Good Thing You're Already Dead
by Backroads
Summary: A nasty fall for Hiccup leads to an even nastier consequence-death. And the Afterlife really is a pain.
1. Snow Fall

_This was inspired by Duchess Delanie's most excellently depressing piece "Tracking Moments". She gave me permission to go forth on my inspiration, though, any of you that really know me, realize this was only a matter of time before I did... what I'm about to do... to How To Train Your Dragon. Because I've done it before. But it's to be done, and it's going to cost me lots of research (which is so far a blast), but I hope to have a heck of a lot of fun and I hope I can entertain a few people as well. Enjoy and do not judge me as completely psychotic for what I am about to do._

* * *

The grey sea spread itself not far before disappearing into the snowfall, a plane of smoky glass broken up by only the barest waves in the steady roll of water. Rocks plunged upward from it to pierce the white sky and the mist that invariably chose to rise with each snow. A blizzard was, possibly, on the way, but at the time panic seemed best saved for several days, not hours, and the air humbled itself into the stark wintriness that was in fact pleasurable. Though the wind circled through at the high elevations of the sky with a fair amount of chill, the taste was delicious and Hiccup could not believe he had so often before underestimated the wonder of winter. The burden that choked up so much time on the island became much more bearable when one could see it from above as a swirling tunnel of white that at long last melted into the sea.

"Up," he commanded, urging Toothless on with a slide of his hand over the dragon's head. "We'll have this, buddy. We'll be breaking a record."

Thrill evident in his sound, Toothless leaned backwards until Hiccup was nearly vertical against his back. Hiccup laughed and clung tightly, eyes closed against the bits of frost falling into his face. That frost and all the air of the sky seemed wanting to weigh down on him, but Toothless' wings beat proudly and soon the air current was underneath them and Toothless released his body horizontally to glide over it. Hiccup gasped for breath, suddenly dizzy. From pure excitement or lack of air, he couldn't tell. Probably both.

He wasn't supposed to be out. Therein certainly lay the excitement factor. The first snowfall of the season was always a warning to Berk, at least a reminder of all that was not yet prepared for the long cold months. The remainder of crops were yanked from the fields and put to store. Everyone in the village seemed desperate to secure each and every building, running fat and mud through the tiniest of cracks. Stoick, as chief, was a wreck, turning his old overprotective father routine to an act more suitable for bossing around the entire village. Ah, to be chief and have that kind of power. And the forge. Oh, he didn't even want to think about the forge. What was it about winter that made the forge just so vital? Hiccup had yet to see any logical connection.

So he was out instead, taking what he considered to be a well-deserved break. And was he not known for subtly orchestrated sneak-outs? Astrid had begged him to take her along on his next illegal escapade, but she had been slotted to the worst chore that could ever be allotted to her: weaving.

Hiccup didn't mind the thought of her weaving. Wasn't that what girls did? And yes, Astrid was a warrior in training but also most definitely a girl and every other Viking woman in the tribe managed to play all the roles. Why couldn't Astrid?

She had punched him for that.

He opened his eyes against the wind. It stung, certainly, but he didn't mind. First winter from up above and he could hardly stand the thrill. He looked down, the island practically disappearing beneath him in the snow. He remembered when he'd lay out as a child, staring up into the storms before being dragged back inside the house. This was the opposite.

Beneath them the rock formations surrounding the island became dusted in the snow. Many of the rocks were entirely unexplored—apparently accessible only from dragonback or a really small boat. Gobber had once told him, years ago, they were haunted by souls not yet properly released from their corpses. It was an eerie thought, though Hiccup's first response was a question regarding how the ghosts managed to hang out in the water and rocks without drowning like a normal person.

Hiccup and Toothless lowered themselves toward the rocks into a swoop that barely brushed the water, which Hiccup imagined to be freezing. He held his breath for the dive, and released it as they soared under an arch and back into the sky.

The afternoon was waning. The snow and mist had taken care of so much of the light, but somewhere through it all was the faint glow of the sun preparing to set. They probably should be returning home soon. It was freezing, and his winter coat was just not cutting it. Toothless was probably tired and hungry. So was he, for that matter.

Food would be good.

But it was the first snowfall.

Once more they tore upwards for height. He couldn't quite diagnose why he took such a thrill out of heights. But he did. And the snow was falling faster and heavier, thick wet patches covering him. He wondered what it would all look like in true darkness.

Beneath the island shrunk then grew as they went in for another dive, over the trees and cliffs of the back of the island. It was incredible to behold and impossible to explain. Wind rushed into his face as green and grey and the color of the sea rushed past. Then back into the air. He really should have snuck out Astrid.

He slipped. The metal prosthetic that was to fit so neatly into the stirrup. It slipped.

In a brief, critical observation he decided the snow had made it wet. Such things happened. Probably his own fault, not making sure it was tight. But that brief and critical observation was followed by a bad choice to scream and let go. Extremely dumb when one's dragon was practically vertical in the air.

He wasn't sure what happened after that. Just bits and pieces. Trying to clamber back onto the saddle, Toothless drawing back in a panic with wings beating at the air without any actual flight.

Small flying accident, nothing more.

The snow made it worse. Thickly falling white stuff, tiring and wet, choking him as he rushed through—he could not be sure of the direction. But something jumped in the way, something so big and hard he tasted blood in his mouth and felt the jolt of the safety line snapping. Toothless shrieked from somewhere close and Hiccup desperately reached, grabbing nothing. Falling into nothing He hit something again—stone? Mountain?

Then something again. And again. And stopped.

He lay on his side and gasped for air. That common action didn't seem to work. He wanted to throw up. Beneath him the ground was wet, freezing, sticky. He dug through the snow with his fingers, hoping… hoping for what? To climb across the ground to stand?

Something snorted near him and pressed a nose against his back. He would have screamed if his voice had worked. He couldn't move. Every part of him hurt.

"Sorry, Toothless," he muttered, turning to touch the dragon. He could barely manage that. The movement shook something through his body, and he tried to scream again.

Something was very wrong. Something wet was sliding into his eyes. Hot, not cold. Blood, not snow. Yes, something was wrong.

Of course something was wrong. He had… he had fallen. He could barely put together the memories. Fallen off Toothless. How far had they been up?

He had fallen off Toothless before…

Not like this.

He rolled onto his back, then tried to turn his head as vomit sprung up from his throat. He choked several times, and wanted to vomit again at the coppery taste. More blood?

Toothless nuzzled his head against him. How was Toothless? Hiccup couldn't even see. He just wanted the dragon to stop touching him.

He tried again for breath. He hated the sound he made and he more hated the fact that he could get so little breath. He also now hated the snow that just kept falling around him.

Toothless tried to slip his head under Hiccup's arm. For the first time Hiccup was able to scream, one that quickly faded by the sharp pain from his lungs. He closed his eyes to the blood and snow, but the burning pain all through him only intensified. He had never been much of a crier—that sort of thing was frowned upon—but now it happened. Mostly just tears.

It hurt so bad.

He didn't lie there very long. Amazing how aware he was of the time passing. He wasn't there very long at all. He just closed his eyes and tried to ignore the panicked sounds of Toothless.

He wasn't going to make it.

The reality hit him harder than crashing to the ground.

That was a stupid thought, he shot back mentally. He was still conscious. Of course he was going to make it.

Was he so sure?

Yes. He'd make it. They would come looking for him. Toothless could certainly bound back to the village via land. He would just have to hold on until then.

He wouldn't last that long. It was freezing.

Toothless would keep him warm.

He couldn't even breathe.

He would make it.

He had fallen off an airborne dragon onto an island. Fallen hard.

Merely another hazard of riding a dragon.

He really, really hurt.

He stopped attempting breathing.

* * *

It was an interesting choice to make, though he didn't think it really counted as a choice as much as it did a necessity. One of those things—awful, awful things. But he was there, lying prone on the ground, not even able to gasp for breath and the logical solution was to stop. He was not giving in, just doing what was necessary.

But he felt better afterwards. Much better.

He staggered to his feet from his body. What in Hel's name was he thinking? Dying? Oh, gods, was that what he had just done? Yes, there he was lying on the ground in the oddest angle he had ever imagined a person. His eyes were closed, and over them pooled the blood streaming from his forehead. That was the term: streaming. His good leg no longer claimed the title and lay twisted and snapped underneath him. His chest didn't even look normal.

Hiccup closed his eyes and tried to remember how he had felt. Pain. That was it. Lots and lots of pain. And this before him was clearly why he was in such pain and… panic set in.

Lots and lots of pain to lots and lots and lots of panic. He reeled back, tumbling into the snow. "What did I do?" he demanded. He rose up again, mind spinning.

No one heard him. Of course no one heard him. Had he expected anyone to? The only things present his own dead self and Toothless, lying next to the dead self in the snow, eyes watching that body that was now half-covered in snow.

This wasn't happening. "Toothless," he called.

The dragon didn't move.

"Toothless!"

Nothing. Of course nothing. What was he expecting?

He sat down in the snow and stared up into the sky, the twilight mix of purple and orange replaced by white sky. Clearly, he should have not snuck out. At least it wasn't cold for him. For crying out loud, what was that supposed to mean?

So he had given up on breathing. So what? He looked back up into the sky and screamed.

And no response. From anyone or anything. Of course.

His legs… he wasn't sure why it was so much on the forefront of his mind, but he found disappointment in the realization his left leg still consisted of that hunk of wood and metal. What was it, some clinging form of his body at death?

Death. He buried his face in his hands. He had just gone and gotten himself killed. There he was, broken form in the snow as the sky darkened around him.

What was everyone going to think?

He felt like he could faint.

* * *

_Claimer: I will be claiming my own ghost rules for this, to be different than my other ghostly pieces. Just to make this story work out the way I want it to._


	2. Now What?

The snow rescinded within the hour, and the place of death slowly came into focus as the final flakes settled onto the ground. The ghastly white cloud cover cracked enough for real night sky to peek through. A small sliver of moonlight was all it took to magnify the little clearing in the rocks just beneath the jutting rise of a mountain. Trees closed in on the clearing, and it was wonder Hiccup hadn't smacked into those on the way down. As the case appeared it were just a corpse, a dragon, and a cliff just past the din of the sea.

Couldn't he have landed in the water? What would that have felt like?

He sat in the snow, knees pulled into his chest, chin resting, and stared at himself. The absolute weirdest thing he had ever done. The great element of panic wanted to just scream some more, but there was something fascinating about looking at this broken body. That was him. Lying right there in the pink snow. Disgusting. But it was indeed him, his body, the sad remains of a really bad flight. Did he really look so odd?

He shivered. He still could not feel the cold; rather, the trouble was the pure iciness that seemed intent on spreading itself all through his insides. And something else. Terror. Oh, he had thought he had experienced terror—pure energetic fear, red-hot panic searing through the bones. This terror was cold.

Something had to be done. Obviously. If he were to just attempt to put himself in the roll of an innocent on-looker, what exactly would he do? Rush over to the body in all-out selflessness? Well, the body in question had just fallen hundreds if not thousands of feet with a few good clunks against a cliff on the way down and there really wasn't a whole lot selflessness could do about fixing that. What next? Considering the layer of snow around, one might want to move the body out of the snow. Great idea, go grab his own corpse. Even if he wanted to, he wasn't sure if he could. Something about it just rang taboo, not to mention just weird. What exactly was he right now? A consciousness? Were consciousnesses allowed to move corpses?

Hiccup pressed his forehead against his knees and willed himself not to cry again. Crying was highly frowned upon. But with the darkness encroaching around him and himself lying there dead in the snow… he didn't know what to do. He no idea what was supposed to happen next. He hadn't exactly been killed in the rage of battle, ready to be selected by Odin or Freyda—the only thing he really knew about death. So now what? Just hang around waiting for years for his body to properly rot?

No one had any idea he where he was.

The tears forced themselves through, as well as a few sobs. Humiliating, but no one was around to hear. Just himself, dead, and Toothless. Toothless who was huddled up to his body. Had he figured it out yet? He would have to eventually. What had he been thinking, taking Toothless anywhere near here?

Hiccup sighed and blinked back the remaining tears. There were plenty more, he could feel them. But he had to think logically. First two options of an innocent bystander were null and void, so now what?

Return the body to its tribe.

Oh, gods. The tribe.

The last, definitely the last, thing he wanted to think about. Just what were they going to think when he didn't return? They hadn't even known he had left. Unbidden the scene flew through his mind. His dad, a little annoyed but otherwise unconcerned about his teenage son staying out all night, just preparing some berating about it for the next day. Astrid, every curious about whatever he was up to. A day later, a few days later, wonderment on everyone's mind. All right, so his insistence on a search party would have probably been a little behind on usefulness, if he hadn't died so quickly. He liked to assume some people would eventually come looking for him. His dad, certainly—it had been only been a few years since his dad had dared let him spend a night at the house alone.

Somehow this wasn't making him feel any better. Just worse. Much worse.

Well, if they didn't find his body and give it a proper funeral, what was to come of him?

Except he didn't care about that at all. The night was dark, the moon eerie, and the trees looked like veritable monsters ready to eat his dead flesh. Because that dead flesh was lying in the snow and his dragon was going to guard it for who knew how long? And this him now, the one thinking? This one was scared, miserable, and depressed, not to mention the deep state of shock that dotted every other emotion, that little surprise at finding oneself dead.

He wanted to go home.

Toothless stirred, whipping his tail through the snow as he lifted his head, eyes bright in the darkness. They stared around, watching. Had the dragon heard something? Hiccup expected that if Toothless had heard him those eyes would actually be on him. This him, not his body.

Sorry, buddy, Hiccup thought.

Past the trees and the mountain he could hear the surf crashing against the rocks. The faintest sound, usually taken for granted when one lived on an island, was suddenly deafening. And the wind, the wind that was just a tiny breeze tangled in the branches… it was like scraping metal.

Slowly, as if in a dream, he climbed to his feet. He felt strangely light, dizzy, and ever so slightly cut off from everything around him.

Now what?

Not a good thought to think. He folded his arms tightly into him as more tears came. What was he supposed to do now? What was he supposed to do? Just hang around?

No. His dad had to find him. Someone had to find him. They had to know. If only he could Toothless to find his way back to the village, well, that would certainly signal a Hiccup problem, with his reputation. Hah. Like he had any ability to convince a dragon to do anything right now.

Where was Berk from here, anyway? He tried to remember what he had seen when they were still in the air, when he was still alive, looking down on the island. No, he just remember all the stupid pretty snow. Still, he could trudge all over the island with nary a problem after this disaster. And just what did he intend on doing upon reaching the village? Could he be seen? He had never claimed to see a spirit, nor had anyone else he knew. Berk had never had a widely reported wandering soul problem, at least one that he had heard about. What a learning curve this was.

Was he honestly considering heading back to Berk? For lack of anything better to do until something happened.

He made his way over to Toothless and his body. So odd. It was as if something drew him there. What, life? He stared down at himself, that awful shape in the dim light, and felt frozen. Finally, with a jerk of his head, he turned his attention to the dragon. Toothless' head lay on his front legs, eyes now half-closed, but full of despair. The equipment was all in place, connected, attached. Just missing a rider. Before he knew it Hiccup was touching Toothless' head. The touch was not normal touching, not quite. Somehow… indistinct, vague, like he was touching something through water. Toothless did not react.

Hiccup turned to a random direction and headed into the trees.

Travel was difficult. He had failed to stumble upon a decent path, if one existed on this side of the island, and upon leaving the clearing he couldn't see a thing. Probably didn't matter if he crashed into anything, in his state. He wanted to scream again. Why not? What was stopping him? His life was already over. So he did—and felt slightly less worse for doing so.

The woods seemed to respond to that single scream. Good. He had made some sort of impression on the world. The moment he had shut his mouth the darkness seemed to become clearer. Maybe it was his eyes adjusting, but the bark of the trees became all the more distinct, twisted lines strengthening in the darkness.

He shuddered and stopped walking.

Another breeze picked up through the trees, breaking against branches. Several pine needles fell as their branch collided with another. Overhead something, a bird, took flight.

Now he was just being stupid. He had bigger concerns than something scary in the trees. Unless that something wanted to go gnaw on his body. And even that might be a blessing.

He took a deep breath and started forward. He was silent, he realized. None of anything he heard came from him.

Snow began to fall again as he followed the tree maze. Which he was beginning to view as incredibly stupid. Did he have to become lost on top of dead?

Barely had he finished the thought then the trees thinned into a patch of loosely spread saplings. At least, that was what it seemed in the darkness. Fewer big trees, more bendy little ones. The sight became clearer as he gazed. Yes, saplings. A fresh area of growth. Lots of little plants and… a mound of dirt and rock, nearly his height.

He was twisting around in his brain what that meant when something moved. A dark sharp blacker than the night moving. He doubted he would have seen it save for the snow. No, running. A form. Human. Jotun. Maybe.

He tried to scream, but the thing was already right in front of him, tall, thin, and nightmarish. Matted and tangled hair fell to its knees, and its body was covered in rags. He couldn't make out its face.

"You," a voice hissed. "What are you doing here?"

* * *

_Notes: Afterlife did not necessarily begin at death. Due to a multi-soul concept, a conscious soul could not begin its journey until the body was completely destroyed. Burying: bury body with lots of stuff to keep body busy while waiting for body to break down. Pyre: burn really, really hot to quicken the process._


	3. Disa

"I got lost."

The words tumbled from his mouth, instinctively and defensively, before he had any time to think them over. The moment they sounded through the air he realized just how incredibly stupid and bizarre they were. Who was he to be saying he was lost when that was not nearly the most crucial thing happening to him at the moment? And who was this who needed to know? And at just how much risk did "I got lost" put him? And what did risk matter to him?

The moment of realizing stupidity then turned again to horror. What was he speaking to?

"You got lost?" The creature seemed to laugh, though it might have been a snarl. It circled Hiccup, long legs stretching through the snow a cat's, hair bouncing behind it.

Hiccup squeezed his eyes shut. For the first time since his death he felt cold on the outside—chilling cold. The creature was like a wildcat studying its prey. Running might be wise, save for the fact he couldn't run properly with his leg still like it was and the more terrifying feeling that this thing would probably catch him.

"Lost. What a fascinating way of putting it." The thing's footsteps stopped and then it actually sniffed him. "Very fascinating, considering you are definitely not a living body who was lost hunting. So is lost what they call it now?"

Hiccup could not quite be sure, but the voice seemed to be female. He continued to hold his eyes shut. "I don't know what you mean."

"Dead, of course. That much is obvious."

Dead. It was bad enough when he died, but to hear someone else say it was like a knife. So it was true, then.

"Which you definitely are. Not even a body, only spirit. Just a pathetic piece of conscious soul. Again, I ask, what are you doing here? And tell me the truth, boy."

"I fell." Again, he seemed to have no control over the words.

Silence. "You fell?"

He forced his eyes open. There the shadowy thing was, standing right before him, staring. "I fell. Off a dragon. Just a few hours ago." Great. His entire death story summed up in three sentence fragments. What an epic poem it would be.

"A dragon?" the creature asked incredulously. "Really? I've seen them sometimes… couldn't believe it. You're from the village, then? Berk?"

He nodded, and realized he was shaking.

She, if he were right in assuming female, laughed again. "None have dared wander out this far in years. Where did you fall?"

He pointed vaguely back into the trees.

"Is your body still there?"

Another nod.

"No wonder. Good luck at anyone finding it out here. Especially with the blizzard only a few days away." The creature glanced skyward, then turned back toward the mound.

It was as if he just broken from a spell. He could actually think of something to say. "Who are you?"

The creature stopped and faced him. "This is my mound. I was buried here, oh, nearly two hundred years ago."

"You're dead?" Suddenly the idea of finding another dead person was unbelievable.

"Of course. What did you think? That anyone can sense a silly little soul without even a corpse to cling to?"

He had no response to that.

She sighed. "Come inside."

"What?"

"The mound, soul boy. Look at you, all freshly dead, absolutely terrified, no possibility of any proper afterlife yet… it breaks what's left of my heart. So come in."

He squinted at the mound. "It's for burial…"

"Yes, it is. I told you, it's mine."

He did not want to go into a burial mound. "I…"

"Can't find a way in?" She sighed and grabbed his arm. It was like being grabbed by ice. "Come."

And then the thing dragged him across the ground and right into the mound. Through it. Before he could think or scream, he found himself passing like water through a wall of dirt, stone, and stick and popping out into a tiny chamber. He automatically gasped for breath. He had just walked through a wall.

Inside the mound was lit. He hadn't expected that, and immediately scanned the space for candles. There were none, and soon he realized the light came from a phosphorous mold covering the walls. The ceiling was low, evidently made only for a horizontal-lain body. There was barely room for him and the creature, yet the space was scattered with books, weaving and sewing supplies, and a battle axe. In the very center of the floor lay the grey remains of a burial shroud.

"Home sweet home," said the creature.

Hiccup looked again at her and this time did scream.

He was looking at a corpse. Crouched over the dilapidated loom was little more than a skeleton, bones covered haphazardly with patches of flesh and faded skin and disgusting rags. The hair that drifted to the things' knees was thick, but mostly white—not the white of old age but the white color of disease and shock. A few black strands cut through it. At Hiccup's scream she turned to look at him, and it was all he could do not to scream again. Her eye sockets were completely empty, just gaping black holes in her pale face.

"I know. I do look quite ghastly, don't I?" She spoke with pride and stretched out a skeletal hand. "Two centuries will do this."

"Draugr," he managed to say, thinking of the stories Gobber had told him. "You're a draugr."

"I did always like that term." She sat down on the ground, legs crossed, remains of what he supposed was a skirt spread around her. "Draugr. Walking dead. It paints such a tantalizing picture. Wonderfully eerie. The stuff of ghost stories and nightmares. Please, sit down."

He glanced back at the wall. He, more than anything, wanted to leave.

"Sit, soul boy."

He sat. No good in disobeying a draugr.

"My name is Disa," the draugr said. "I died two hundred years ago, was buried out here, and as you can see never left. Not even my body." She smiled and stared at him with her empty eye sockets.

She could see him perfectly, he realized. He wasn't sure how that was possible, but she could see him.

"Do you have any questions for me? Unless you'd like to begin discussion on your own nasty little situation. Either one I encourage. Go ahead, talk if you'd like. I've nothing better to do."

His mind was a blank. He could barely comprehend where he was, sitting in some forgotten burial mound, talking with a dead corpse, himself only a few hours dead…

"Am I really dead?" The question came out a plea. Maybe, through some miracle, this was all a fluke or a dream or even some odd near-death experience and his body really wasn't dead, just mostly dead and still somewhat alive.

"I'm afraid so," Disa said.

"How can you be sure?"

"From one dead person to another, believe me, I can tell. And tragically you're caught until your body is found and destroyed."

"Destroyed?"

"Oh, you know what I mean. Given a funeral."

"What about you? I mean, your body is still…" He wasn't sure how to find the right balance between an insult and a compliment. "Well, it's pretty much decomposed but…"

"I know. I wish my husband had really gone for the pyre. So much quicker."

Hiccup stared at his hands. "No one knows I went out."

"Then I really feel bad for you. What about the dragon you fell from?"

He shrugged. That was not something he wanted to think about.

Disa leaned forward. "You were heading back to Berk, weren't you? Oh dear. You really thought you could just walk in there."

"Well, do you have a better idea for me?"

"No. But it doesn't change the fact that your idea is useless. You're just a soul. Chances are no one will even notice you." She sighed. "I'm very sorry."

But he wanted to go home.

"And I have a word of advice."

Who was a draugr to give advice?

"Don't go back. You'll regret it. It's far too painful."

"This is already painful plenty. How can it get worse?"

"Trust me, it can."

He was silent. The same icy horror filled him.

"You never told me your name, boy."

He hesitated. "Hiccup."

"Hiccup, then. Maybe I can help you."

"Help me? How can you help me?"

Disa rose to her feet, eye sockets still on him, a faint smile on her lips. "I have my ways. Talents. Connections."

This was madness. But he too stood up. "Am I going to have to walk through the wall again?"

"Oh, it's easy. Follow me. I want to show you something. Well, many things." She slipped through the mound wall, all of her. Hiccup paused, closed his eyes, and followed. Like walking through a waterfall of dirt.

Outside, the snow was falling faster and thicker. How could he have thought it so lovely such a short time ago? Now it was just something ugly in the darkness. Yet Disa stood out in it with pleasure, face raised to the snow, arms stretched out.

"I love snow," she said.

"What did you want to show me?"

"Everything, Hiccup. There are things on this island you could never see before. Now, I imagine you'll be noticing a little more."

* * *

_Note: Draugr: mobilized corpse of Norse folklore. Is literally the walking dead body, yet can walk through walls._


	4. Visitations

To be perfectly honest Hiccup did not notice a thing. All he saw was a crazy draugr woman dancing in the snow. He stood as close to the burial mound as he dared. The thing was, to his surprise, much creepier outside than in. The inside was practically a little home. Outside the mound was obviously a burial mound, suggesting all that a burial mound entailed. Around him the snow fell, bright white. Very bright, incredible contrast to the blackness of the trees and night. It was all so clear.

He shook his head. He was letting his imagination go wild. Perfectly understandable. But the sight was still the same with the clarity and intensity of what he imagined an eagle could see. And everything grew sharper and clearer with every passing moment. The edges of the bare branches, a bat flying past, he noticed them all.

Wow. The dumbest of single words, and it was all he could think.

Disa had ended her snowfall prance. Her white hair cut through the night as she headed from the clearing. Hiccup quickly followed, amazed he had barely been able to see her earlier.

"You're slow!" she called back to him. She did not run, but her stride was gigantic.

"A little wait time on your part wouldn't hurt!" Slow had been something that had defined him well the past few months. His new leg had been designed for the flight stirrup, not running. It wasn't as if he were not perfectly capable of getting wherever he wanted. Speed simply wasn't part of the equation. As he was now, soul, spirit, whatever, he didn't feel the pain or fatigue of walking a long distance, but the pace was the same. And Disa was just really fast.

Her sigh was unnecessarily loud, but she stopped. "You seem distracted, boy."

He nodded as he caught up with her. "I can see everything."

"I wondered when you'd begin to notice."

"I could barely see you when you practically jumped me and now… wow."

"It doesn't take very long. Your hearing?"

He thought back to how noisy the clearing by the mountain had been. "I think that was the first thing to kick in."

She laughed. One that sounded almost normal. "Great. You feel validated in your amazing senses. Just keep those pretty eyes peeled and move it." And she was off again, long legs twisting and turning her body through the trees.

It was all Hiccup could do to keep up, but the spaces between the trees were plain. It was a rush, this dash through the labyrinth of tree trunks which stretched out in front of him, black wood against grey and white air. His hands touched the trunks as he passed and he felt again and again that sensation of feeling them through water.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"Berk, of course."

"What? You said I—" He lost his balance in the distraction and fell, collided headfirst into a waterfall of wood—a tree. He fell to his hands and knees, gasping and feeling rather like he should be choking on a splinter in his throat.

"Did you fall?" Disa asked from somewhere ahead.

He picked himself up. He was shaking. "Yes." Simple answer. "I… I think I just fell through a tree."

"If you think you did, you probably did." She laughed. "Come on."

He stared back at tree. It seemed so solid, so tree-like. He pressed his right hand against it. It felt like a tree, maybe colder than other trees. He closed his eyes and pushed his hand into it. Right into it, up past his wrist. His eyes flew open. Again, wow. The sensation was like sticking his hand into a pool, except nothing was wet. He yanked his hand out and stared at it

"Hiccup, I'd like to make it to Berk by sunrise."

"I'm coming." He tore his gaze away from his hand and let it drop to his side. Think about getting home. Think about making sense of everything. He walked away from the tree. "I thought you said it would be useless for me to go home."

"Useless because you can't do anything, soul boy. I can."

"You said I shouldn't go back."

"When did I say I would let you into the village?"

He didn't reply. Oh, he would be going into the village, all right. Disa didn't know anything about him of even Berk for the past few centuries. Berk was his home.

Around him the forest grew steadily clearer. And he could hear just about everything. Insects in the air, wood cracking in the wind. Even the snow seemed to make a sound as it landed. Somehow, it was all reassuring. The epitome of a snowy night, so perfectly normal. For a moment he felt like his world wasn't completely over.

But as he walked on, things moved among the trees. Shapes. And no matter how intense his sight he could not make them out. More flashed by the further he walked. Not animals. Other things. And… faces. They seemed to over in the air just out of sight, appearing for only a second before vanishing.

Disa spoke before Hiccup could ask about them or even scream. "You thought you lived on such a peaceful little island, didn't you? Didn't think it was full of creatures like us."

"Us?" He hated the sound of that. "I'm not like you."

She stopped and turned back to him, mouth turned up in a grin, empty eye sockets right on him. "Well, you're hardly alive."

"Yeah, but I'm not some undead monster."

"True, but neither are half the things out here. These are what I wanted to show. I hoped you'd catch a glimpse of them."

He didn't want to ask the question, but his curiosity got the best of him. "What are they?"

She shrugged. "Various things. Ghosts, like you. Trolls, haldde, vaettr… who knows? I really don't bother introducing myself to everyone. Most of the things out here tend to keep to themselves, you understand."

"What are they doing here?"

"Hanging around. Just like me and you."

Well, whatever they were and whatever they wanted, Hiccup hated them. He found himself keeping closer to Disa, praying the things out there wouldn't bother a draugr.

Nothing else was said, not by Disa, not by Hiccup. He merely followed her through the trees, trying hard to ignore the things he saw. But the hours passed painfully, which was odd as he felt so little. He should have been tired, his leg aching. But instead he felt nothing, just amazement at the hours that passed. Only his mind was tired.

As the night wore down and dawn approached the forest became familiar. It suddenly seemed that maybe, possibly, the entire night had been nothing more than a bad dream or even a hallucination and he was fine and alive.

And then they stepped from the trees and Berk spread beneath them, a mess of white bumps sparkling against the ocean. It was beautiful. Hiccup stood at the top of the hill, and gazed down at it. Nothing could be wrong with such a charming sight. Everything had to be okay.

But the pit inside of him said otherwise.

"Stay right here," said Disa. She looked even more horrible in the daylight. At night she fit in merely as a monstrosity of the darkness—completely natural if horrifying. Such things were expected at night. Now she was a disgusting and terrifying mess.

"But…"

"No one will notice you, and you won't be able to stand seeing anyone. I'll hide, drops hints of the other side of the island."

"You're a draugr."

"I can hide. This is far from my first time of wandering into the village." And she ran down the hill.

Hiccup waited at the top of the hill for Disa to disappear. He had just spent the night talking to a draugr, something undead. So he was dead. But he didn't want to be dead. Falling off of Toothless was just a horrible dream.

He was going into the village.

Carefully he walked down the hill, the natural caution of movement taking over every step. Just like normal. Completely ordinary. He had taken a bad spill, spent the night in the snowy woods, but he was coming home now. Just fine. Nothing wrong.

The village already showed signs of waking up. People were out, clearing paths through the snow. Smoke billowed from chimneys.

And there was one small figure wrapped in furs rushing through the snow straight to Hiccup's own home. Astrid.

He hurried faster through the snow.

She banged on the door with her fist. "Hiccup! Are you there? Stoick!" She looked great. Her cheeks were red from the cold and from running. "Is anyone home?"

"Astrid!" He shouted her name as he nearly fell onto the doorstep.

She didn't look at him.

"Astrid!" He grabbed her arm.

She pounded another fist against the door. "Hiccup! It's me!"

Hiccup stepped back. She didn't even notice him. It was like before all over again. Only worse. She couldn't see him. She couldn't even feel him touching her.

"Astrid!"

She whirled around, apparently quite capable of hearing that voice.

His father was trudging up the hill. "Any sign of him?"

"I came to ask you." She paused. "So he didn't come back last night?"

"No." Stoick shook his head. "I've been out for a few hours now, out in the woods. He… he might have come in during that time." Hope entered his voice. "But there's no sign of the dragon anywhere." He pushed open the door and led Astrid into the house. "It was so hard to look for him in the dark. Hiccup!"

Hiccup slowly entered the house behind them. They didn't see him. They couldn't see him. Disa had been right.

"Hiccup!" Stoick called from the bottom of the staircase.

Useless. He could tell them he wasn't up there. But no, his dad just had to go check.

Astrid stood motionless in the room. She looked terrified.

"He's not up here," Stoick's voice sounded from above.

For a horrible moment the house seemed to darken, and freeze. Hiccup couldn't take much more of all these cold feelings. He turned and stumbled from the house.

Outside he could see the entire village, all charmingly capped with snow, sitting pretty while his body and his dragon were on the other side of the island. His dragon. Toothless. How could he have just left him there? Hiccup skidded down the hill. Other people were out, battling against the snow. Just like any other snowy morning except his name seemed to be everywhere.

Disappeared last afternoon. Didn't come back last night. Not back this morning.

No one noticed him. Here he was, walking among them and no one gave him the slightest glance. He felt he could run screaming through them and not glean a drop of attention. Disa had been right. He should have listened to her. It was useless to be here.

Though what Disa said she would do? Whisper? Hide? Drop a few messages about where he might be? That didn't seem to be happening.

Finally he couldn't take it anymore. He did what he had already done several times since the fall. He screamed. And his assumption was right. No attention so ever. No one noticed him. Because there was nothing to notice because he was absolutely nothing right now and his body had been killed in an awful fall and he was never going to speak to anyone he cared about ever again…

He pushed through the wall of a house. Fishlegs' family's. Though he really didn't care about who it belonged to. All he could feel was the sickening sensation of pushing through something he really should not be able to push through. But he could and it was horrible and when it was over he was in a nice ordinary room with a hearth and a fire and a nice table and he did not enter that room the ordinary way. He shoved his way into the bedroom. There was Fishlegs, still lazily sleeping, completely ignorant of Hiccup's predicament.

"Can't you hear me?" Hiccup screamed.

Nothing. Of course nothing.

He pushed his way through the wall to the outside. Why did he keep doing it if he hated it so much? Probably because he had nothing else to do. He stomped through the snow, not making a single impact upon it, until he finally couldn't take it anywhere and threw himself down into it. Face first into the snow. It should have been cold but it wasn't. He sobbed. Hard. He knew he was the only one who could hear it and somehow that gave him so much power. He could cry for as long as he wanted and no one could do anything about it.

Finally, exhausted, he lifted his head. All the fatigue, all the ache, everything he should have felt earlier tore at him. He gasped for breath, wondering if he really needed it. Snow was falling again.

It seemed a gathering had occurred. Right in the middle of the village. That was never good. The tended to mean an emergency, a we-don't-have-time-to-gather-in-the-hall emergency. It wasn't a particular large crowd, but there was his father in the middle saying something about a search party.

"I don't know what good it will do," Gobber was saying.

How right he was.

"Hiccup probably decided to camp out. Maybe he couldn't see in the snow. Holed up somewhere for the night."

No, that was not what he had done.

Stoick slowly shook his head. His eyes were red and tired. He must have not slept all night. "He would have been back by now. He has that dragon."

"I'm just saying he's wandered off before."

Never for all night.

"Never all night," Stoick said fiercely. "Never. And don't you dare say there is a first time for anything. There's a blizzard coming in. It will likely to hit today. You can see it coming in."

The clouds, spilling snow, were growing far too grey for morning.

"Have we checked the other side of the island?" someone called out.

"Why would he be on the other side of the island?" Stoick asked.

The man shrugged. "I thought I heard people mentioning it."

"And what does that mean? The other side of the island?"

So much for Disa's plan.

"Search everywhere, then. Everywhere on the island we can reach. Find him." He turned, body seeming to sag from the effort of shouting. He seemed so tired. "I'm heading out along the east shoreline. Who's coming with me?"

Someone slipped from the crowd, and Hiccup's gaze followed. There was Astrid, followed by Snotlout and Fishlegs, who must have awoken while Hiccup was bawling into a pile of snow.

"Dragons," Snotlout was saying. "And just what are we supposed to see from the backs of the dragons?"

"Anything," Astrid snapped back. "He took Toothless out yesterday for a flight. Chances are Hiccup is somewhere with a dragon. Dragon accessible."

"He might have fallen into the ocean."

Not funny. Hiccup followed them.

"Hiccup's too good to fall." Astrid turned down the path to the arena.

"I had a dream about him this morning," Fishlegs said. "We were in the woods. He was yelling at me."

"Everyone yells at you," Snotlout said with exasperation. "I'm about to yell at you."

"Hey, I just thought it would be interesting to bring up."

Hiccup stopped and watch them file down to the arena. Fishlegs couldn't have possibly heard…

Well, it didn't matter what anyone heard or didn't hear. All anyone could hope to find was a body. His body. Last night that had seemed the best thing, some sort of conclusion.

Now he wasn't so sure.

He slowly made his way to the harbor. He still wanted to scream and cry, but the energy wasn't there. The harbor was more or less peaceful. Ships, fishing boats, all bobbing happily in the water, nothing wrong with them save for the threat of the coming blizzard.

He sat cross-legged, and stared down into the water. It was foggy, and the snowflakes that struck the surface instantly faded into the blur of ocean water color. It was heavy snow, heavier than the night before. How would anyone find anything in it? His dad was keep trying, he could trust that much. He could see it now, his stubborn father fighting against the snow only to find… Hiccup didn't want to think about that. And Toothless. How would Toothless fare in this weather? What was the dragon even doing at this moment? Where would he go when the blizzard set in? He couldn't fly…

He stared out into the ocean past the pouring snow, then at the familiar line of ships.

But one was new.

Well, new wasn't the right word to describe it. It looked like an old fishing boat made only for a few people, hardly seaworthy. Yet it was just hideous enough that it should have been long recognized as a village joke. It was dull, void of any decoration, though the hull had been painted black. That black was now faded, and planks of graying wood glimpsed through.

And the boat was not tied up. But it hung near the shore, bouncing in the waves without ever drifting.

It fascinated him. He couldn't explain what drew him to it, but it fascinated him. He stood up and made his way down to it. It did not drift away as he entered the water. He grabbed the sides, then quickly draw away his hands.

The boat felt… normal. No strange coldness, no odd pressure. Just the normal sensation of touching a normal wooden boat. He heaved himself over the side.

"Just what do you think you're doing?"

Great. The draugr had found him. She stood on the dock, staring down at him with no eyes.

"Um… I'm not sure?" Because he really had no earthly reason why he would be climbing into a boat.

"You went into the village."

"I have a problem with following instructions. Ask anyone. I have the attention span of a sparrow."

Disa took a running jump and landed in the boat. "And just what do you plan on doing with this boat?"

"I have no idea. Maybe I felt like doing a little fishing. Forgive me for wanting a moment of normalcy." He leaned from the bow and dipped his fingers into the water.

She sighed. "Hiccup, you're dead. You just can't—" She shrieked.

The boat was moving away from the dock.


	5. A Boat Trip

The current was not swift, nor did the little boat move at any particularly quick speed. Hiccup assumed the force of Disa's jump had knocked the boat ajar from its position, though that did not explain the steady course from the dock. It pushed through the blackening water, thick lines streaming from the bow. He let his hand dangle in those ripples. His mind insisted the water was freezing but he couldn't sense a temperature difference at all. All right, so maybe all things were not normal.

Though none of it warranted Disa's screaming. She fell to the bottom of the boat and flattened her body against it. "Oh, gods, what is it doing?"

Like a moving boat was his greatest problem as of late. "What, the boat?"

The mass of white hair nodded. "Yes. The boat."

"I guess we're caught in some current…" He pulled his hand from the water. It wasn't even wet. Behind him the dock slid into the snowfall as the boat drifted along the coastline. "Or it's a magic boat. But I'm willing to bet on the current."

"I bet on magic boat."

The horrible part was that she was probably right. The idea that she had merely knocked it askew was less and less likely.

"I hate boats."

"Then why did you get on it?"

Disa groaned and cautiously sat up. "I just thought you were being weird, hopping into a boat. So I joined. I didn't think it would start moving."

"I'm actually a very weird person and I didn't think the boat would move either. You could swim back to shore."

"I hate water."

"Nice to find a worse Viking than I am. Was." He spat the word out. How long would he be mixing verbs? "Are there are any oars down there? I bet I could row us back to shore."

"As a woman I could get away with keeping away from the water. Just run the household and farm." Disa slowly lifted two massive, splintery oars up to him.

The looms were thick, warped, and barely fit in the oarlocks, Hiccup let the blades sit in the water a long moment before pushing into a stroke. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Mm." She forced herself up in the other seat, looking as seasick as a draugr possibly could.

"Is it… tactful to ask someone how they died?"

"Serious, soul boy? That's your question? Didn't I ask how you died?"

Hiccup considered that. No, that had just been him being dumb. "No. I told you."

"Huh." She picked at her dress with a skeletal finger. "I don't know. I really don't think there are official rules for it. No one cares. Are you asking me how I died?"

"I guess."

"I drowned."

Hiccup stared down at the water. "Oh."

She nodded.

"Sorry."

"It's all right. Probably less painful than falling off of a dragon. Hey, I thought you were returning us to the village."

"What?" Hiccup paused rowing. The village was a tiny speck in the curtain of snowfall. They were still following the coastline, just in the wrong direction. Next to them the island rose high. He sighed and threw his head back to stare at the miserable swirl of snow. "Okay, I must have flipped the boat around. I'm not the greatest rower."

"Then flip it around again! I want off of this thing!"

He rolled his eyes and circled on oar out. "Fine! Though I really gotta say that this isn't the best time to be yelling at me right now. As you so kindly pointed out several times, I'm dead, the entire village is out searching for me, and—"

She sighed, and for a moment the horrible draugr image came right through. "Just row."

The boat slowly spun as dark shapes whipped into the air from the island. Wings stretched out to cut through the snow and for a horrible second all Hiccup could think was Toothless.

"Dragons," Disa said breathlessly.

"Astrid." Oh, she was awesome. Fighlegs and Snotlout too, but Astrid was awesome. Hiccup spun the boat again. "We're not going back to Berk."

"What? What about-?"

He began to row as hard as he could, and the boat slid easily with the strokes. "My friends are up there looking for me. If we could get around the island, maybe you could get their attention. Or my dragon's. And he'd get their attention. Anyway, someone will get their attention and they'll…." His voice trailed off at the realization of just what he was suggesting. Rushing what was painfully necessary.

"Find your body." She shook her head. "All right. Your funeral. Hopefully. Just get me off this boat at some point."

Hiccup leaned into the strokes, and the blades kicked through the water. His mind was a whirl. He didn't want them to find his body. Not Astrid. He wanted her and everyone else to just assume he was alive and okay and holed up in a cave somewhere nice and warm. They could be all hopeful and keep searching for… who knew how long? No, that wasn't fair to them. They would find him, his… body, and it would be horrible. At least he hoped it would be horrible. He would rather it would be a horrible experience for them rather than a minor inconvenience. And that just was just a mean and depressing thought. Well, it would be mean and depressing to just leave him in the woods. What was his problem? He was not going to resort to any pity party. They were looking for him, and they needed to find him even if he were dead so he could end this soul mess.

"What if they just dump you in a barrow?" Disa was saying thoughtfully. "Those mounds are highly inconvenient. For one thing this island is hardly suited for digging things, and for another you're just going to have to wait to decompose."

"Shut up." The dragons were still above, flying in low circles over the island. Could they even see anything in the snow? The blizzard was even closer.

"We could be neighbors! Though I doubt they would bury you out so far as me. We could still visit."

"I just want this over." The oars spun wildly.

"Makes you wish you could have died a noble death in battle and be done with it. My husband had that fortune. Valhalla, I think. Moron, leaving me here to rot. At least I drowned first so I wasn't thrown screaming onto his pyre. Then I so would have sought revenge."

"You're not making me feel any better."

"I know. I'm just making conversation."

The island curved, and the boat naturally followed suit. Twisted rocks waded out from the shore. The very same ways he had looked at the day before. Not a problem, he could get through them. Still, he sped up, desperate to make it to where he had been killed.

"Slow down," Disa hissed. "You'll hit something."

She was right. He grudgingly slowed. The rocks were black, and no snow stuck to them. A glimpse back revealed a wide arch looming ahead, practically ready to eat them.

He couldn't shake the stories out of his head. But he had to. They were just stupid ghost stories made up to scare him. Not real. They were just rocks, and he would row past them and end this misery and he wouldn't have to think about them again and…

Disa gasped.

Something pale jumped from the arch. There was no splash, but a clear ripple spread across the water.

He stopped rowing. The oars jerked slightly in the water.

"No, no, keep going!"

Something was climbing on top of the arch. A skeletal figure crawling the length of it—something like Disa only much worse, completely skeleton. Pale rags hung from its bones.

And there were others. Not just on the arch. He could see them on the rocks. He gripped the oars tightly and resumed rowing, faster than he thought he could. He tried to focus on a funny wave out in the distance, but he couldn't help turning around to watch. There was about a dozen of them. Not all skeletal, some just… people. Ghosts. Some on the rocks, some on the shore. All watching him. He shut his eyes.

"Good," said Disa. "Just keep going straight, just as you are. You're…" She screamed as the boat rocked hard.

"What was that?" Hiccup shouted. He kept his eyes shut, cures flowing through his brain. Those weren't just stories he had been told, they were all very painfully real and now he was right in the middle of them.

"Just row!"

The boat slid through the shadow of the arch, and something else rocked the boat. His eyes sprang open just in time to see a chalk-white grin disappear under the water. Some of the curses he had been thinking came right out of his mouth.

He glanced over his shoulder. They were nearly out of the rocks. Just a little further. They were just ghosts. They couldn't do anything to him. Could they? He had no idea. He pushed into the next stroke… and the oar stuck. A long hand had grabbed the loom and was pulling it into the oar. Hiccup held on tight, but the creature was strong. Another hand pressed down on the gunwale, once, twice…

The third time involved more power than he had ever seen. The boat flipped over and he plunged into the water. He sunk, head going under the surface. All was darkness. His leg, never designed for swimming, fought to pull him down and he wondered how that was even possible in his condition. With a few pumps of his arms he sprang up, gasping for breath. His head clunked hard against the boat as he realized he was in no need of breath. His hands sought for the gunwale and gripped it tightly. Then he pushed out from under the boat.

The air was white. Not quite the standard blizzard, but the snow was certainly coming down. It took a moment for his new amazing eyesight to kick in and separate the ghosts from the snow. He held tight to the boat, other hand treading water. Where was Disa?

Maybe he could swim to the shore. Where the other nasty ghosts were. Great idea.

The water rippled as one's head rose just in front of him. He choked back a scream and pressed back against the boat. He had no weapons. Would a weapon be any good? What exactly was he afraid it was going to do? What could it do?

A pale hand reached for his neck.

"Down to your grave, beast!"

Something slim and metallic sliced through the air. The ghost shrieked and plunged back into the water.

Hiccup stared where it had disappeared.

"Hiccup!" Disa called. She knelt on a large flat rock, water dripping from her hair. Next to her stood a tall man in a grey robe. Both his hands were raised, metal shards protruding from between his fingers.

Another scene to stare at.

"Push the boat over!"

Yes. Boat. Because some dead creature had capsized it. He made his way to the stern and attempted to push, which was difficult with one good leg. But the boat moved willingly and nothing else attacked him.

"Good to see you returned the boat you stole," the man said, leaning forward to grab the boat.

"I didn't steal it…"

"You hopped into a boat that wasn't yours. That is some degree of stealing. I should have let you suffer a little longer. Watch out." With both hands tightly gripping the bow, he flipped the whole boat over. Water splashed from it as a tidal wave, and it was only Disa grabbing his hand that kept him from going under again.

"I really, really hate water," she muttered as she helped him onto the rock. "Complete repeat of my death. Why I got in that boat I will never know."

"You lost one of my oars!" the man complained. He sighed heavily and straightened to his full height. He was ridiculously tall. "Do you have any idea how long it takes to carve one of those?"

"They were warped!" Hiccup said.

"Like you would even know." The man stretched his hand out over the water, and the missing oar floated out from behind the arch and all the way up to their rock. He smiled and picked it from the water. "Here we go. No harm done." He pushed back his hood. His eyes were a glowing hazel, and dark brown hair hung at his shoulders. "Now just where were you taking my boat?"

Hiccup pointed vaguely at the island.

"Interesting," the man said thoughtfully. "Why over there?"

"To retrieve his body," Disa said as she wrung the water from her hair.

"Body?" the man repeated. He turned his gaze to Hiccup. "You've got a perfectly good body lying around somewhere? Fascinating. How did that happen?"

"I fell off a dragon." He really needed a better story.

"Very interesting." He fit the oars back into their locks.

Hiccup's mind finally caught up with him. "Thanks for helping us, but… who are you and what are you doing out here?"

"I was hunting nixes. I think mostly the undead were attacking you and my boat, but I'm sure there were a few nixes out there." He looked sadly into the water. "And I couldn't even kill one."

"Who are you?"

"Od," he said climbing into the boat. "My name is Od. And don't say it's a very odd name because I hear that all the time. Are you coming? I'd love to see this place where you died."

The place. Hiccup glanced at the sky. The snow was wild, and he couldn't see the dragons.

"What are you?" asked Disa as she slipped into the boat. "You don't smell dead."

"I'm not. I'm of the Vanir. A god."


	6. Od

_Just got back from a lovely trip down to St. George area. The desert is so nice for morbid creativity. _

_Thanks to all the readers who have been reading. It's very flattering. Please leave any comments you want, good or bad. _

_Disclaimer: Writing party holds no claim over any of the obvious. As for Od, well, the writing party believes it's his own fault for having such a vague and small role in Norse mythology, thus allowing writing party to do its will with him._

_Also, plug-in... if you like the whole Norse world-of-the-dead thing, I HIGHLY recommend Inquisitive Tea's "Helheim's Gate". _

* * *

"Seriously," said Disa. "Who are you?"

But the man called Od did not answer. He balanced in the boat's stern, muttering to himself as he ran his fingertips over the splintery gunwales. Part of his grey cloak dangled over the boat's edge, hem skimming in the snowy water.

Hiccup climbed awkwardly to his feet. To his amazement he was dry, yet his body or whatever it was still trembled. Their boulder was not far from the shore. Black waves lapped at the stone before striking back toward the island and the rest of the rocks scattered between. The entire island seemed white. He wanted off the stupid rock. He wanted to hop back in that boat without caring to whom it belonged and make someone find his body. How handy would Od be in that task? If he were a god he could probably make as decent a commotion as anyone else who was visible. Yes, he would work. And Hiccup really didn't care what else Od did after that. Hiccup was dead, what more could happen to him? He slowly made his way across the rock and prepared to slip into the boat.

But Disa grabbed his shoulder with her unpleasantly bony fingers. "What are you doing?" she hissed.

Hiccup shrugged her hand away. "He'll take me to the island."

"Soul boy, you're a few hops away from shore. You could walk if you wanted. You don't know who this is. He's claiming to be Vanir."

At this point anything was possible. Vanir or not, if Od could help, he could help. Hiccup climbed into the boat, Od scarcely noticing.

"You're not leaving me on this rock."

Od now stared at the island, hazel eyes gleaming as he continued to mutter.

Disa took a deep breath and hopped into the boat, where she immediately clung to the seat. "Excuse me, but who are you? Od?"

Od faced her, surprised. "Oh? Didn't I tell you my name? I'm Od. I came here hunting nixes."

Hiccup smirked.

"You're not Od."

"I am," he said with a confident nod. "And you are?"

Disa didn't speak for several long moments. Od did not seem to care, and it was not until he had raised the oars for the first stroke that she spoke. "My name is Disa. The boy here is Hiccup."

The boat shoved away from the boulder, sliding forcefully into the sea under Od's strong strokes despite the wild snow. The bow pointed toward the island without the tiniest shift on Od's part.

"I find this so fascinating," he said. "Both of you. The dead have always intrigued me. Though the ones in Hel and Heofon are no fun though in their defense I don't always head those ways. I hear of Valhalla, Folksvangr, that one mountain… yet to see those, believe it or not. I'm sure they're interesting. But you… wonderfully bizarre. The predicament of bits of soul trapped here still. It seems to go against so many laws of nature." He paused in the rowing, eyes burning into Hiccup. "May I ask what it is like?"

"I… " Hiccup fought for his voice. Wow, that was a question he had never expected to be asked. Who went around asking the dead what death was like? Then something snapped inside of him and he didn't care who was listening. "I haven't exactly had a lot of time to weigh all the pros and cons yet. I can move through things, I don't get wet, and so far I've been attacked by my fellow dead and become the subject of an island-wide manhunt that is not going to end well. And that's where you came in." He fell back against the side, mind exhausted and heart pounding. He did not dare say anything more but would have preferred to curl up at the bottom of the boat and pretend none of this was happening. "I got myself killed just yesterday. How do you think I feel?"

"I wouldn't know," Od said thoughtfully. "I've never subjected myself to death before or had anyone kill me yet. I think I would prefer it to stay that way."

"Then why do you say it's so fascinating?"

Od laughed. Nothing mocking, just the sound of pure delight. "Because it is. It's different to me. New. Unexplored. Which is why I would bother coming out to this measly little island full of mortals. I don't find mortals dull, so don't be offended, but many of my kind do. They find you… short-lived and uninteresting. Though in this case it's your short lives that appeals to me. Which is why I asked what it is like being dead."

Disa stared at him as if he were completely mad.

Od finally noticed and turned to her, eyes full of the same glow they had when looking at Hiccup. "And you. It seems you are still attached to your body. A veritable monster! May I ask why?"

She shook her head and somewhat released her desperate grip on the boat. "It's fun, it gives me access to the island where I spent my "fascinatingly short" life, and it gives me something to do while I wait to decompose. I figured my pieces of soul should make themselves useful in the meantime."

Od spent a moment taking that all in. "Fascinating," he said in pure honesty. "So, have either of you ever hunted a nix? Water spirits, very nasty. Though their women are quite beautiful…"

The most Hiccup had been involved with them was bedtime stories. "Why would I hunt a nix?"

"Did you know they try to drown people?"

Disa gave a small cry and sunk to the bottom of the boat. "Please don't talk about that."

"I bet those trapped souls back there were imitating the nixes. Wish I could have caught one. A nix, I mean. I don't know how to go about capturing souls." His eyes rested wistfully on the clearly haunted rocks, now far behind them and fading in the snowfall. "Ah, well. Another time, perhaps." He took a deep breath and shifted his gaze to Hiccup. "Hiccup."

Despite his misery Hiccup felt commanded to sit up straight.

Od gestured with an elbow toward the shore. "Your body. The one you mentioned is on the island." He paused, waiting.

Hiccup paused as well before speaking. "From when I died? That one?"

"Yes, that's the one. Where is it? I mean, where on the island is it?"

Thank goodness for clarification. Hiccup stared at the island. Its features were clear even through the mess of snow. Dark and colorless, but the details were incredible and for a moment he could not think of anything but the sight of the trees, rocks, and snow before him. A large shape flitted through the air, and his heart leapt. Astrid was still out there, airborne, dragon soaring past that jut of mountain…

"There," he said, pointing. Immediately he was taken back to the view from above, from the air, the thrill he felt. One final thrill. "I remember looking at that mountain yesterday and I'm pretty sure I hit it falling down. A few times, actually. That or something really big and hard."

"You poor little thing!" Disa cried.

"Death hurts?" Od asked.

"Oh, yes," said Hiccup. "At least mine did." He glanced at Disa. "How was yours?" Why was he having this conversation?

She frowned, thinking. "Not much pain that I remember. But it was plenty terrifying. Lots of panic and I don't do well with panic."

"Different deaths," Od said. "Fascinating. All right, then. Docking near the giant cliff. Any wights or haldde around there?"

"Not that I saw," Hiccup said.

"But there are dragons." Disa carefully raised herself back to the boat's seat. "Up in the air, if you can see them. They are friends of his, out looking for his body. Actually him, I believe, but sadly I don't think they fully realize that yet. We were going over there in hopes of nabbing their attention."

Please, Hiccup thought.

"Dragon riders." Od nodded. "I was watching them earlier. It looks like fun. My wife uses cats to get around, but I think I'd prefer dragons myself."

"They're circling down low looking for me," said Hiccup. "They can't see. I don't even know if they can see this boat. Disa says they can see her."

"They can see the boat. Not right now, but if I preferred it, they could. I usually hide it from mortal eyes. I guess I was thinking only the living ones, the way you two just went for a joyride. What would you like me to do to glean their attention?"

"Anything."

"That sounds wonderfully vague and full of way too many possibilities," said Disa, dropping back to the bottom of the boat.

"You said you were Vanir," said Hiccup. "If that's true, you could stop the snow. They won't be able to find me in the storm."

"Why would I want to stop the snow?" Od asked. The mountain rose high behind him. "It's winter." He paused. "Isn't it?"

"Yes, but—"

"If it's winter and you're this far north, it snows."

"Od, they can't find me in the snow! My body is probably already covered up. If the storm gets much worse they'll have to return to the village."

"Which will be safer for them."

With an exasperated sigh Disa leapt to her feet, amazingly balanced in the rocking boat, and grabbed Od by the collar of his cloak. He still held the oars and even the same vague smile as he looked up at her.

"Listen!" she shouted. "If you're not going to help him, just take us to shore and we'll figure it out for ourselves!"

He nodded, lowered an oar into his lap, and gently removed her hand. "I'll help. I just didn't create this particular storm so there is really nothing I can do to stop it, I'm afraid. This one is possibly Ullr's work. But I haven't spoken to him in millennia… Now please sit back and let me take us to shore."

She did so grudgingly, muttering about worthless nature deities.

Hiccup did not speak. The shore approached almost too quickly, and before he knew it the boat rested parallel to the rocks. Barely had Od lay the oars down than Hiccup was out of the boat and scrambling up the rocks the best he could.

"How did that happen?" Od asked from the boat.

"My leg?"

Od nodded.

"Second time I fell off a dragon." He sighed and pulled himself onto the snowy ground. It was at least a foot thick. "I probably should have seen my death coming. First time I fell off a dragon, nothing, no big deal. Second time, crushed foot. Third time, death. I'm a little irked I still have to deal with it now when I'm nothing but spirit."

Disa flopped down next to him and buried her face into the snow for what he quickly realized was a kiss. "I am so glad to be back on land! Please do not hop into strange boats when I'm around ever again."

The storm was truly beginning. The air was all but pure white and the plummeting fakes tingled where they struck him. Hiccup stared at the sky, desperate for the tiniest glimpse. He had just seen Astrid's dragon. She hadn't gone home already, had she? Had the others? It was no good to have them out in a storm…

And then there it was. A blast of dragon fire momentarily cleared the white sky as the dark shape of wings cut through the snow. Another fire blast from a different dragon. And another.

Oh, boy, they were close. "Down here!" he screamed.

Disa clapped a hand over his mouth. "Like they'll hear you, genius. Go find your corpse, then call for me. I'll lead them."

He nodded and ducked from her hand. It couldn't be too hard. Follow the mountain. His body was probably on the other side. He ran as best he could to the rock. The snow was deep, but somehow did not affect him as much as he would have imagined. Or maybe he just wasn't thinking about that. He swung through the tangle of trees, even allowing himself to whip right through the ones he couldn't avoid. His eyesight was an incredible benefit and finally he was up to the rock, touching it, somehow sensing its coolness.

Above him light from the dragons' fire lit the air like lightning. They were still there. Good. They were still looking and they needed to find him no matter what. A sharp tear went through his inside at that thought. Right now they thought—hoped—he was alive. Curled up in a cave or the trees or something. Right now was terrifying for them, but not as bad as they could think. For them, it wasn't at its worst yet because they didn't know for sure.

He followed the mountain around. It was really a small cliff, not a mountain, just something jutting out from the island. A hill. Why had it seemed so large? But it still seemed large. He shoved through the trees that pressed against the rock. The clearing had to be close.

The minutes passed by painfully slow. The snow pressed down, faster and thicker. But his friends weren't leaving. Sometimes he could hear them calling to each other, details about where to look, where they had looked, commands of where to look again and again. And they were diving in closer to the island. He could swear a few trees shook as a dragon's belly scraped over their tops. And somewhere else he could hear Disa and Odd.

But what did the storm sound like up in the air? Could anyone hear Disa and Od.

He pushed through a wall of pine branches and stumbled into open ground. The clearing, recognizable immediately. The ground was bare and glistening snow. Toothless… Toothless was nowhere around. But it had to be the right clearing. For a moment he couldn't move. Where was his dragon? Finally he shook his head. He couldn't expect Toothless to hang around constantly with a dead body. Toothless needed food, warmth… for all he knew, the dragon was heading back to the village. Good. That was the best thing. Now it was time to get his own body back to the village. He threw himself into the snow where he was pretty sure his body had landed and began to dig.

It was incredible how the snow moved with his hands, leaving him to wonder just how the snow from his fit of the morning had managed to look so untouched. The snow piled to the sides as the hole deepened so much more quickly than he would have expected. Still, nothing.

How deep was the snow? Would it be reasonable to expect he could somehow, oh, sense his body? Did it work that way? He was sure he still had a few bits of soul trapped in there anyway keeping him grounded here. He rolled over a few more feet to begin another dig. The snow was thicker here, more difficult… probably because the snow now threw on the ground almost as much as he could dig away. He could no longer pay attention to what was happening. Were Astrid and the others still looking? Where Disa and Od doing anything to attract attention besides screaming?

He heard something out there. His name? Could be it be?

He was supposed to call to Disa, he remembered. He hadn't quite found the body yet, but this had to be the right area. "Disa!" he shouted. Would she be able to hear him? Hopefully Od with his god status would pick something up. "Disa!"

No use here unless he wasn't digging deep enough. He picked a different spot. They all were more or less interconnected anyway. Faster and faster he dug as he continued to call out to Disa. Nothing, nothing, nothing. He dug deeper. Where was Toothless when he needed him? He spread himself around that little patch of clearing where he was so sure he had landed.

Then, finally, midway through a dig that left the snow rising like walls on either side of him, he touched something. He could sense it was cold, frozen, actually. And he felt something. Familiarity. He jerked away at fist, but it was him, had to be him. He recognized the fingers, the chewed nails, now blue and dusted with frost.

"Disa!" he screamed as loud as he could. Then he dug and scraped through the snow faster than ever. Yes, it was him, and a horrible sight. His body lying now half-uncovered in the snow. Very bottom. And the body was definitely dead, funny angles of every limb, complete lack of color, not to mention an explanation of why those last few minutes of breathing had been so hard. Part of the flesh over his rib cage had been ripped open and at least four of those ribs were crushed, broken, and stabbing into his body a lot further than they should have.

He sat back. Well, here it was. Himself. Not a pretty picture, but it was something to take back to the village.

"Hiccup."

Disa had spoken. She stood above him, perched in the snow like a wildcat, Od just behind her.

Hiccup exhaled. "This is me."

She gave a low whistle. "Wow. No wonder you didn't make it. Did you suffer long?"

He stared at his body. "Only a few minutes. Did you get their attention? Are they coming?"

"They landed," Od said. "Your friends. Right by this fascinating specimen of oak a way back. There was room there. I was throwing things into the air and I imagine they saw those."

"Then where are my friends?"

"The snow was very deep," said Disa slowly. "The dragons could barely handle it. And they couldn't see, even with fire. The snow just put it out too quickly."

Hiccup stood up. "What?"

"I'm sorry. They searched the best they could. They were calling your name and everything. But the snow is too deep."

"No." He shook his head. "You didn't give them enough time."

"Hiccup, they didn't give us enough time. They—"

"You could have gone up to them. Had them follow you out here."

"Look at me. I'm a draugr to them. They would have screamed and fled and they took off before Od could get close enough. I'm sorry."

"They'll come back later," Od suggested. "I'm sorry as well."

"But… I uncovered the body. When they come back they'll…"

"Hiccup, you apparently don't have that much affect."

"They won't notice a thing," whispered Disa. "Not what we see."

"But I—" He whirled around. The giant hole he had just dug was gone. Just smooth, undisturbed snow.

"No," Hiccup whispered. He felt dizzy. Sick. He didn't think souls could feel that way. He tried to take a step, but the snow was deep. How could they have left when they were so close? Didn't they want to find him? How could they find him? He tried the step again. Disa barely caught him before he fell.


	7. Cliff Jumping

_Internet cupcakes complete with cherries to whomever can explain the "root" mentioned at the end of this chapter._

* * *

The island did not seem to exist. Disa dragged Hiccup through the snow and the trees, he barely stumbling along with her. At least she said nothing, and he was grateful for that. His own mind was a roaring storm of blankness and he didn't think he could handle any actual words. A small part of him resented the way Disa took his arm and seemingly any control over himself he might have had, but the rest of him simply did not care.

She finally dumped him on a bare patch of ground overlooking the sea. He fell to his knees, panting and ill. The sound of the water, static in the snow, still managed to be deafening.

"There," she said as she stepped away from him. "You were going mad back there. I had to get you away. 

"Yeah, mad. Because I didn't actually do anything." His head still spun. He tried to make it to his feet.

She sighed and tossed her hair back. "You know what I mean. If I had let you stay there, what would you have done? Clung to that same spot like a pathetic haugbui? I could see it now. What a charming afterlife. These people seem to like you all right. I'm sure they'll come back around digging. And, hey, when spring comes, well, that'll make it all the easier."

He had a sudden urge to just fling himself into the ocean. "Why would you even say something like that?"

"Because it's the worst-case scenario and isn't all that bad. Come on, they'll assume you're dead in the next few days anyway. It's not like it'll be a surprise."

"We could have all gotten it over with now." He leaned back to sit, hugging his knees into his chest. "And just what am I supposed to do while my body lies back there? You've been around centuries and you're still here."

"Which is why pyres need to be used more often. Quick, clean, and let's be honest, the soil on this rock is next to impossible to dig."

"Good news!" Od came strolling up to them, face lit with a wide grin. "I just made things easier for you!"

Hiccup stared up at him.

Od held up his hands, red from the cold. "I dug your body back up for you. For real. Now, if the storm stops in time, your body will actually be visible."

"Oh." Hiccup wondered if he should be grateful. He decided he was. "Thanks. I appreciate that."

"Anytime. It was fascinating to see a dead body up close."

But the snow was going to come. It was still storming, and he had lived long enough on the island to know that when a blizzard came it was there for days. His body would be covered up again. And no one would dare come out in a storm. It wasn't safe. One person wasn't worth the risk. The shortest time he would have to stay here was until the storm ended. Which would be days.

He didn't want to wait here. He hated this place, hated it more than he had ever hated anything. He was not going to be like Disa, he was not going to wait around forever for nothing. Of course he had no idea what else he could do. But he did not want to be here. He didn't think he had ever experienced an abnormal number of desires to run away, no more than any other kid, but one was striking him now. And just where did he think he would go? It wasn't like he had a plethora of options.

"I don't want to wait," he said suddenly.

"Hiccup, I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice," Disa said kindly.

"I don't want to wait here. It's horrible. I don't know how you've put up with it."

"Oh please," she said less kindly. "You have not even been dead a full day."

"Thank-you for the reminder." He stood up and looked down at the water. The sea was black, the sky a smoky white, and nothing of the sun could be seen. Once again he considered just jumping into the sea.

"So you really don't want to wait here?" Od asked. His voice was strange, more serious than Hiccup had heard it.

Hiccup nodded his head.

"Really? Are you sure of this?"

No, no he wasn't. But at the moment he really wanted to pretend he was. He had already said as much and stubbornness could be addictive. He nodded again.

"Then I have an idea." And once more Od's voice was bright. "Come. Back to the boat."

"Boat?" Disa echoed.

"Only way out of here. It's small, it can get through most places. It's a humble means of travel, but I like it. There it is, right over there." He pointed into the water, where sure enough the little rowboat bobbed happily without the use of any rope. Then, taking a deep breath, he dived off the cliff.

He landed in the water with hardly a splash and immediately popped his head back up, water dripping from his dark hair.

Disa shook her head. "That's it. I'm walking down there." She turned and disappeared through the trees.

Hiccup stared down. Somehow it was dizzying, but Od was quite happily swimming toward his boat that was in turn floating toward him. Well, Od was a god, but Hiccup was clearly dead with nothing more to lose. He closed his eyes and jumped.

The plunge through the air was thrilling. He imagined it to be cold, though all he could really feel was the wind snapping up past him. It was fantastic. Apparently falling did have its perks. Then he hit the water, the thick sensation enclosing him on all sides. At first he seemed prone to sink. But that was impossible. It wasn't real. He couldn't sink because he had no body. He pushed toward the surface and in seconds was in the air just a few feet from Od and the boat.

Od extended a hand and pulled Hiccup in. "Took the fun way down, I see."

"Yeah. So I'm insane."

"Insanity is a wonderful thing. Well, probably not actual insanity, but the moments we call as such… I enjoy them. Fascinating to experience."

"I could use a ride!" Disa called from shore. She precariously balanced on a rock, looking terrified.

"So she is coming," Od said. "Wonderful." He picked up the oars and rowed to the shore.

Disa's terror had not been evident enough from the distance. The closer came the boat the clearer was her expression. She looked sick, about ready to faint, and all but fell into the boat when Od pulled it up. "I can't believe I'm doing this."

"Why are you?" Hiccup asked.

She nodded at Od. "Him. He said he had an idea. And if it works and I can leave this island, well, I want in."

"I can't promise anything," Od said with a pure joy. "It's… a shortcut, if you will."

Hiccup settled into his seat. Already the boat was leaving the island, faster than Od seemed to be rowing, faster than Hiccup had been aware a boat could go. Water streamed past the hull in deep lines, some of which seemed ready to leap into waves. Behind them the island quickly became a white mist of clouds and snow, the land itself a pale grey barely separate from the storm. For a brief moment he felt a stab of pain his heart.

No one spoke as Od rowed. Disa looked too upset to offer much conversation and Hiccup didn't feel up to it. Od did not seem to mind, and soon took up humming a tune Hiccup did not recognize.

Soon, there was nothing on the horizon. The boat sped through empty ocean. The storm was gone and the sky was now a pale blue, the sun a hazy light. Disa's eyes were shut tight.

"Where are we?" Hiccup finally asked.

"Ocean."

"Yeah… that's pretty clear. Why?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"That what? Are we… fishing? Open-ocean fishing? That's your plan."

"No, that's silly. I neglected to bring fishing gear. Look around. Soon you should notice something. You're dead, after all. You probably have more right to see these things than I."

Disa mumbled something from behind the bony hands covering her face.

"I see ocean," Hiccup said. "Lots of water. It's boring."

"You're dull. Look harder. Or wait. Could easily be we're not there yet. No one said the passage was quick."

He sighed and positioned himself with his back to Od, his gaze behind them. More silence. Dreary, unending silence to match the dreary, unending ocean. At least he wasn't back on the island. What were they doing back there? No doubt the storm still raged. Was he still assumed holed up somewhere safe and alive? What had become of Toothless? What was everyone doing? An hour slipped by as the same questions repeated themselves in his mind. He didn't dare imagine anything. That was too terrifying.

And then…. Something glimmered on the horizon, more so than the weak sun should have allowed. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. He had to be seeing something. No, there it was. A patch of… something… a good way off. Something that sparkled like noon sun on the ocean except it was definitely not water.

"I see something," he whispered.

Disa opened her eyes. "What is that?"

Hiccup continued to stare at it. Beyond the distorting glimmer he could see something. A mountain, an island. Land wrapped in glittering air.

"Land," Disa muttered. "Oh, gods, land!"

"That's not where we're going, I'm afraid," Od said. "Though I would love to visit there sometime."

"Then where are we going?" Hiccup asked.

"Keep looking. Though if we can see the Holy Mountain we're close."

"Why can't we go there?"

Od laughed. "It's holy. An island particular to Thor, whom I've never actually met so I'm completely unaware of how to get on that island correctly without dying and being in Thor's favor. The souls there, I hear, are very protective of Helgasfjell."

"Once again," Hiccup began. "Where are we going?"

Od looked around in bemusement before his gaze landed on something. "There."

Hiccup couldn't believe he had not noticed it. A black rocky cay, so much closer than distant Helgasfjell, right in the path of the boat. It was tiny, hardly more than a rock, with a low, wide cave stretching up at its back. A few samples of vegetation clung to it, blue and red flowers, some scrubby grass. All seemed surprisingly healthy despite the complete lack of soil. A tree once have must existed on the island, because a long snake of a root still clung to the top of the cave.

"What's this?" Disa asked.

"My idea," Od said. "Now to see if it works. I don't know how picky the goddess is right now. This cave leads to a path that should take us near the river Gjöll—"

"Where are we going?"

"Hel. I thought that was obvious."


	8. Hel

_The Writing Party would like to thank Catcha for her mythological character input._

* * *

"Hel?" echoed Hiccup as something inside of him gave a great lurch to the side. "What?"

"Please," said Od as he pulled the boat alongside the black rock. "Drowning and falling. Do you think either of those deaths look impressive on the list for Valhalla or Folkvangr? I think not. So Hel seemed the most obvious place to start."

"Start what?"

"You struck me as rather against wandering that fascinating little island for the next little while, so I thought I would see if I can't persuade Hel to accept you as…" He looked Hiccup up and down, "incomplete. She isn't known for bargaining, but then again it's not entirely unheard of, and a piece of a soul is probably better than no soul at all. I guess."

"So we're here to see if she'll take me when I'm all marvelously of no use whatsoever to her. Great." Still, Hiccup clambered from the boat. The rock was surprisingly warm to the touch and the plants seemed to turn to him. That, or he was crazy and he was not sure which explanation he preferred.

"Whatever," said Disa. "Just get me off of this boat." She sprung quickly onto the ground and this time did not kiss it.

The low cave revealed no depth of shadows as Hiccup approached, just solid blackness. Was it even a cave? But it whispered and hummed as the ocean wind passed over it, like any other sea cave. He considered stopping, turning around. This seemed just about as stupid a thing he had ever done. He had heard of warriors running swords through themselves in hopes of avoiding Hel's realm, though he had also heard others say it wasn't that bad. It wasn't like he had been expecting Valhalla—then again, he had never exactly put any thought toward the abode of his death. He hadn't expected it to come so soon.

Maybe he was reacting too quickly. He hadn't been dead that long, he was upset, he wasn't thinking straight… he needed time to think this through. But he had never been particularly good at that and the footsteps of Disa and Odin were just behind him.

So he stepped into the cave.

The strict darkness ebbed back into shadows. Inside was like no other cave Hiccup had ever seen. The black rock ceiling curved smooth overhead as a slender trail meandered downwards to twist around stalagmites and… trees? Gnarled and grey, they still boasted vital leaves that were soft as they brushed past his face. He could practically smell them growing. The cavern mouth had opened into an underground forest that grew more massive the further he descended. Was all this under the ocean? Only the ocean could be big enough to contain it.

Soon lights twinkled above. His first thought was stars, but the lights were earthy. Crystals. Jewels. It was the only explanation. Crystals providing the light for a black forest. The stalagmites soon disappeared, and the rock beneath him gave way to soil. A bird cried overhead, and its shadowy form flitted from the trees. The ceiling was now so impossibly high above it might as well have been the sky.

"I hear water," Disa said suddenly.

Hiccup listened. Sure enough, up ahead was the rushing sound of a stream. What had Od called it? Gjöll?

Oh, gods. This was really happening. He was dead and now he was trying to break into a world of the dead. If they were going to break in it might as well be Valhalla.

The path turned a final bend and spread out into an open but narrow rim over a rapid-saturated river. White water in the extreme. A black stone bridge elaborately decorated with what appeared to be human bones and skulls curved over it.

Just before it sat a young woman with hair so pale it could have been white and a face that certainly was. She wore a white gown clasped together at the front with black brooches, the fabric hardly distinguishable from her skin. She appeared to be weaving a band with a card loom and looked very bored at that.

Od stepped forward. "Modgud. I completely forgot about you."

The young woman refused to look up. "Not surprising, Od. Scatter-brained as usual. Why would I expect any decent memory of me to hold with you? Have you spoken to Freya at all in the past few eons?"

Od nervously ran a hand through his dark hair. "I do mean to write her."

"As long as you don't write her of our little fling." Modgud threw down the cards. "Was that not worth remembering, either?"

Disa stifled a giggle.

"Oh, yes," Od said slowly. "Of course I have not forgotten about that…" Clearly he had.

"Perhaps you had best forget about it," Modgud said as she stood up and dusted the black soil from her pristine gown. "The last thing I need is a jealous wife down here." She smiled coyly, and Hiccup blushed. She was very pretty in a ghostly sort of way. "Are you busy now?" Her pale eyes swept over Hiccup and Disa. "Who's she?"

Od stared back at her questioningly. "I hate to say this, but I'm afraid I've forgotten your name."

"Disa," she replied without a hint of offense. "And you are Modgud, I assume, keeper of Gjaller Bridge. A pleasure to meet you. I love your dress."

The apprehension vanished from Modgud's face. "Well, then. Someone with taste. I don't care if you are his current affair. I've decided to like you. Forgive me for my rudeness, but your soul is gorgeous even if your decomposing flesh isn't it. You were a knock-out in life and I am prone to jealousy. I see more gods and heroes than you would think tromping through here and some of them are extremely handsome and my fellow Jotún men are usually so ugly and, well, you know. Things happen."

"I understand completely."

"So, then," Modgud said, voice more solemn. "My dear friend Disa, may I ask the nature of your business?"

Disa glanced back at Od. "He has decided that as we're dead we need to come here. Me and the boy over there."

Modgud gave a cheerful wave to Hiccup. "I'm assuming you don't mean just my bridge. I'm assuming you didn't come here to just wander Niflheim. You want to cross the bridge."

"Exactly," said Od.

Modgud laughed. It was like the wind through the cave. "I'm afraid that's not done. Though you got me for novelty. I really don't get too many souls requesting Hel. I don't know why. A few bad rumors get spread about in the land of the living and next thing you know people are trying to confuse the Valkyries. It's pretty nice, actually."

"I thought you let the dead over all the time," said Hiccup.

"Souls, cutie. Oh, you're just adorable. I love it when kids come through here. But I'm afraid I can't let you over as you are. I kind of need all your souls together. Complete. Except for the world soul, that's useless to Hel. But the ones that are yours. Get those together, be properly dead, and then we'll talk."

"But it is a unique case!" Od exclaimed! "And I know you've let people over before who weren't all that dead."

"Who is going to argue with Odin? And the heroes tend to be very attractive." Modgud sighed happily and picked up her card loom. "Besides, it's Hel's rules. She likes things properly dead. And as much as I'm sure we would become dear friends, Disa, and the fact that the rest of your souls are still incased in that rotting flesh of yours, no."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "I knew it. Or I should have known. This wouldn't have worked." Was he even sure he wanted to cross the bridge?

"Come on," pleaded Od. "Hel's in charge. We could just take the matter up with her. I beg you. For the intrigue of the situation."

"Hmm." Modgud wove thoughtfully. "All right. For fun. I'm bored over here so often. One of you may cross. The boy. Sweetie, I'm afraid I don't even know you're name."

"Hiccup." He stared at the ground for a moment, then back at her. "Um, why me? Why do I have to cross?"

"Because, Hiccup, you strike me as the heroic type, that's why. And you're adorable. Hel doesn't always get along with gods, but she just might be charmed by you. You won't be able to stay in the realm without her approval, of course."

"This wasn't even my idea."

"It's this or go back up and wait."

Great. He looked to Disa for advice.

"It's up to you."

Well, this just beat it all. Okay, he could do this. Think of it as an adventure. Adventures were nice. Sometimes. "So I just go and cross the bridge just like that? No special rituals?"

"You're not going to bleed," Modgud said. "So there's no point pricking your finger. And I already know your name and your business so unless you really want to say those for me…"

"Well, it would make it seem more official."

"All right, then. State the obvious."

"I'm Hiccup, and I want to ask Hel if she would let me stay in her realm even though I don't know if I want to go there and I'm not really sure what I'm doing here right now…"

"Ooh, a bitter hero. Lovely." Modgud beamed. "That's out of the way. Go ahead."

"Good luck," Disa said.

Od was examining trees and rocks.

Hiccup took a deep breath and stepped onto the bridge. Nothing happened. Was something supposed to happen? He took another step. It seemed to be just a bridge, albeit one with skulls that stared at him. Beneath him in the water ran white and fast. But the bridge was wide and its sides high. The bridge was boringly safe. Without any incident, he made it to the other side.

The path ahead was straight, and the black and grey trees continued to grow even thicker than they had on the other side. It was all he could do to push through their branches to stay on the trail. But he finally shoved through the last of them and stumbled into an area so bright by comparison to the rest of the place that he had to shield his eyes.

And the moment he did, something growled at him.

A bluish-grey sky stretched overhead, grey trees and hills piercing up into them. A high silver fence stretched eternally to either side and just before him was a set of gates decorated with… more skulls. Of course. And in front of that gate sat a very large wolfhound of uncertain fur color because the entire creature was drenched in blood.

Hiccup froze. He had never been good around dogs since one had bitten him when he was small.

The dog stared at him, not growling, but certainly watching with its ears alert.

How did one speak to a dog? "Hi, boy," he began nervously. He considered sticking out his hand, but that was how he had gotten bitten before.

The dog tilted its head.

Hiccup continued forward very slowly. The dog did not seem to mind, but its black eyes still watched in bemusement.

He was almost to the gate. "Nice dog. Pretty dog. Good dog." He laid a hand on the gate latch and squeezed his eyes shut as he prepared for the dog attack.

Nothing,

He opened his eyes. The dog was standing with its tongue lolling from its mouth.

"Good dog," Hiccup murmured one more time as he slipped through the gate.

The dog whimpered behind him.

Well, Hiccup had no desire to pat a blood-covered dog. He sighed deeply and looked around. So this was Hel. All right. Definitely not as bad as it was made out to be. It was just very… bland. Not ugly. Some people would find the place attractive, actually. The section in which he stood consisted of a flat plain sprinkled with a few modest huts, some trees, and a river. Probably the Gjöll river. There was somebody fishing from the river, but he didn't seem to notice Hiccup and Hiccup didn't dare say a word. The entire place had a distinct sensation of awkwardness. Maybe it got better. There still seemed to be trees and hills further in. He stood a moment, unsure of where to go. But if he weren't supposed to be here, wouldn't sooner or later someone come and complain? That way he could get a few answers. Or booted right back out.

He continued walking. His entire body felt tingly. Not painful, but his body did seem to be complaining about being here. There was no path to follow, but then again there didn't seem any place in particular worth going. The amount of huts increased, and there even seemed to be some stretches of farmland growing dull green crops. All the colors here were dull. But as he continued and looked closer he found the details intense, as if to make up for the lack of luster. Everything seemed more defined. He saw a few more people, walking around or working or talking with each other. None looked in his direction, and he found himself not daring to speak to them.

And then, there it was. One moment nothing was in front of him but a few trees and the next moment there it was, a stone-paved path leading up to the largest house Hiccup had ever seen. It was silver and black, and reminiscent of a craggy mountain. For all he knew it had been built from one. Around it stretched a high wall of smooth black stone that seemed to sparkle. It didn't fit in with the landscape.

A black gate opened on its own.

Hiccup was pretty sure this was where Hel lived. At least there wasn't a dog. He stepped through.

The garden surrounding the house was impressive. He had never understood the looks of flowers the girls loved, but he had to admit there was something to it. The color again were dull, but the flowers gave themselves to detail with complicated patterns running through everything. Willows swept their branches against the spread of gleaming black leaves, and flowers seeming to have been decorated with charcoal grew everywhere.

A woman sat on a stone bench, staring at him. She was tall, at least nine feet, and her body seemed to have been divided right down the middle. Her right side was beautiful, the skin ivory, more vibrant that the ghostly white of Modgud. Shiny black curls tumbled to the ground. That half of her lips was full and dark red in color. The eye was a dull blue, but wide and framed with lengthy lashes. The other half of her might as well have been set on fire. It looked worse than Disa. The hair was just as long, but brittle. The skin seemed covered in soot. The lips did not exist, and the eye was red.

"Hello," she said sweetly. Her voice was mesmerizing. Rich, soft, but seemed ready to echo against the walls. "Do you usually enter without asking?"

Hiccup wondered if he should bow.

"Because it's very rude," she said, standing up. "I've been watching you since you crossed the bridge. You don't have all your souls together. You're nothing but a little sneak." She marched over to him, both eyes glowing.

Hiccup found he couldn't move.

"And then you just walk right in here as if you were invited!"

He couldn't think. To his surprise he didn't feel scared, but it sure wasn't having someone who was clearly a goddess shouting at him. "Are you Hel?" he heard himself ask. Probably should have gone for something more eloquent.

The rage left her eyes, and she smiled. "Why, yes, I am. Welcome to Hel. Not everyday I have someone just march right in without my permission."

"The gate opened by itself. I mean, the one right over there." He pointed back. The gate was now closed. "I thought… I thought maybe I was supposed to come in."

"You were supposed to come in. That's what you think?" She sighed. "All right, maybe I did open the gate for you to make it a little easier and so I wouldn't have to walk all the way over, but a polite tap at the wall to get my attention would not have been unkind." She gave a furious stomp. "And it's so rare I have visitors. Maybe they don't think I have the same feelings as others. Ah, well. At least Baldur and Nanna are friendly. Come, Hiccup. It's rude of me to have you standing there. You must be exhausted." She began walking to the door of the house.

"You know my name?"

She laughed. "Of course. I make it my business to know the name of everyone who enters my realm. Even if they are incomplete. Come inside, and I'll have someone make you something to eat."

Hel's house seemed to consist of a single room. White polished marble made up the floor, and fire-lit sconces lined the black walls. The ceiling reached up in deep dents—the inside of the mountain. A long silver table had been placed in front of a hearth that provided most of the light. But there was no fire.

"It's poison," Hel explained when she caught Hiccup staring. "Poison can be very bright. Now explain to me why my Garmr didn't so much as bark at you?"

"The dog?"

Hel yanked a chair out from beneath the table. "Yes, the dog! Who do you think guards this place from sneaks like you? He does that sometimes. He'll bark and attack some people, then makes friends with others. I'll never understand animals. Now sit!" She once again looked furious.

Hiccup obeyed.

"Servant!" she shrieked, voice echoing through the room.

A man appeared, draped in grey.

"Get my guest something to eat," she said sweetly. "Hiccup, what are you hungry for?"

He wasn't hungry, but he didn't dare tell her that. "Uh, I didn't even I could eat."

"You can when you're here. Anything you'd like, my servant can get. Anything at all."

He could think of nothing.

"All right, I understand that choice would be overwhelming. He'll have what I am having."

The man nodded without expression and vanished again. In a moment he was back with two plates filled with something Hiccup didn't recognize. The servant set the plates down, bowed, and was gone.

Hel stabbed a fork into the dish and took a bite. "Yum."

Hiccup couldn't tell if it were meat or vegetable. And he was pretty sure the plate was made of bone. Still, it didn't smell too bad.

Hel stopped eating. Her eyes glowed again. "You don't like it?"

Oh, no. Hiccup picked up his fork.

But it was too late. Hel was already on her feet. "Ungrateful! Such ingratitude! Not since Baldur first came here have I seen it! The blackened hand struck his place and sent it flying into the hearth.

"I was going to eat that," he whispered.

"No you weren't!" she shrieked. Then she took a deep breath and laughed nervously. "Oh, my. That was embarrassing. I'm sorry you had to see me like that." She smiled with genuine warmth. "I was only trying to be polite."

Hiccup set down his fork. Good. Now he didn't have to try the weird stuff.

Hel sat back down, hands supporting her chin. "Don't let me force any hospitality on you. It doesn't always… suit my temper. Now, Hiccup, why are you here?"

Someone it seemed too whiney to say the god Od had all but dragged him here when he had agreed to go with Od. He thought for a moment. He had to do this right. "Oh, great Queen of the Dead." Was that too much? No, Hel looked pleased. "I have come to ask if I could beg admittance to your realm." Disa popped into mind. "As well as admittance for a friend."

She laughed hard. "Someone trying to get into Hel! Sometimes I fear my realm has such a bad reputation. It's not. We have hunting, farming, fishing. We have parties now and then. Actually, quite regularly since Baldur came. People like him. It's a lovelier place than many spots in Midgard. But no, everyone wants Valhalla!" Her eyes glowed, and her fists pounded to the table. "Valhalla this and Valhalla that. Or Folkvangr because Freya is just so adorable and wonderful and perfect! I'm always hearing about that! And then Thor's over there with that mountain and don't even get me started on Heofon!" Flames burst from the sconces, igniting the air. "And on top of everything is Valhalla!" She clawed actual dents into the tabletop with the blackened hand, then sighed. "But you… you actually come to me. No glorious death in battle?"

Hiccup shook his head.

"Still, I'm flattered that you walked right down here. But I'm sorry. The answer is no."

"No?"

Another laugh. "Hiccup, you're not—"

"I know. My body is still lying up there. I don't have all my souls together. I heard."

"Then you understand why I can't take you in quite yet. There's a procedure in death."

"But I can't—" He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. "I can't stand being at my home."

Hel reached over with her good hand and gently touched his cheek. Her skin was freezing. "I'm sorry. Truly sorry." She pulled her hand back. "But I can't make exceptions. So many others go through the same thing you are. Take my advice. Go back to your barrow, play with all your little burial items, and wait for your body to decompose. Just like everyone else."

"But that's just it. I'm not buried. They haven't found my body yet. At least I don't think they have. You see, there's this storm and—"

She held up the blackened hand, eyes glowing. "I hate rambling," she hissed. "They'll eventually find your body. And then you might get lucky and receive the quickness of a pyre. Now I'd be perfectly happy to sit a while with you and chat, but after that I'm afraid you'll have to leave. You and your friend. Oh, and make sure you get that idiot Vanir Od away from my bridge girl."

So Hel wasn't the ideal place he wanted to be, but it was probably where he would wind up anyway. But he couldn't go back. "Please. Come on. Just this once. I'll do anything." What had just come out of his mouth? But the fear of going back to Berk was overwhelming.

She stood, watching him. "All right. I've made deals before. Let me think… something good. Something fun."

What had he just gotten himself into?

"Steal something from Valhalla for me. Oh, Odin would love that!" She laughed. "Yes, that's it. I don't care what you steal. Just steal something from Valhalla and bring it back. Then you can come in early. Though I don't get why you just can't wait like everyone else."

Hiccup found himself nodding.

"Then we are agreed. I must say, Hiccup, I'm excited. And it should be fun for you. And when you return you'll have to give me the dirt on Valhalla. I know it has to have its faults. It just has to. Now, get out of here before all the other souls find out what you're doing."

Hiccup left the door just in time to hear Hel scream at her servant.


	9. Going Back

It seemed as if Hel's house opened up just in front of the gate. The dull field of Hel had shrunk significantly, the many trees and streams and even people vanishing in favor of a mere stretch of grass between house and Hel's gate. She must have really wanted him out of there.

And Hiccup was glad to oblige. So Hel wasn't all that bad. Likable, even. He still couldn't believe he had agreed to steal something just to get back to it. And stealing from Valhalla, no less. Just how was he supposed to do that? A wild goose chase to gain admittance to a place where he wasn't sure he wanted to be.

He pushed open the gate.

Barely was there room to walk through than the growling started. About as subtle as thunder and even louder.

Great, he thought. Garmr. The giant blood-drenched dog. He had completely forgotten. "Nice dog," he whispered as he stepped through the gate.

The giant wolfhound did not respond to that well. It reared back, eyes on Hiccup, teeth bared. It sure had a lot of teeth.

"It's me," Hiccup said softly as he closed the gate. Why was he closing the gate? Maybe he would need to jump behind it again. "I'm the one who calls you nice dog. We're friends. Remember." Okay, so friends was a strong word. But the dog hadn't growled when he entered through the gate.

Garmr barked. It was like a volcanic boom. Hiccup pressed his hands over his ears and quickly moved past the dog, muttering "nice dog" the entire time.

How many people actually left Hel? Garmr probably didn't know what to do with this novelty.

He would just keep walking. The dog would get bored, forget about him and…

Another loud bark sent the air vibrating. And then came the pounding of heavy paws.

The dog was chasing him.

Hiccup hurried down the path, pushing tree branches out of his way and wishing he could just break into a full run. The dog seemed to notice, and fell to a stalking pace that still placed him just behind. Now the dog was hunting. Not chasing, just hunting. Which was probably worse.

The bridge had to be close. He pushed through another web of branches and sighed in relief. He could see it, just ahead. Who would have thought bones and skulls would be so beautiful?

The dog snarled, and suddenly Hiccup found himself on the ground, staring down into it, claws digging into his back.

What would happen if a giant dog tore him to pieces when he was already dead? He squeezed his eyes shut.

"Bad dog!" he heard someone scream. Modgud. "Bad dog!"

Startled, the dog removed its paw and Hiccup jumped to his feet. He whirled to face Garmr. The bloody face was right in his. And all those teeth glinting…

"Run!" Modgud screamed again.

Slowly Hiccup backed away. The bridge would be just behind him… Garmr wasn't moving…

"Hiccup!"

Out of the corner of his eye he saw the bridge—just to the side of him. He had just missed it. But his foot was already slipping and he was falling. Dark trees and star-like jewels swirling above him as he plunged into the ice-cold white water, getting pulled under, foam and shadows speeding over him. The water was wet. Freezing and wet. He could feel it on him, in him…

And then he wasn't there anymore. No river. No darkness. No water. No dog.

He was in his house.

He blinked rapidly, but the image did not go away. Fire roared in the pit. The table bore the same old marks it always had. Shadows moved mesmerizingly against the wall and their glowing backdrop. Through the window sheets of snow could be seen, and Hiccup could see the snow water dripping down the pane.

It was all real. He was in his house.

Impossible. He wasn't in his house. He was just outside Hel. In fact he was drowning in the river Gjöll at that very moment. But he wasn't. He was in his house. His safe and warm and wonderful house, standing in the corner, perfectly fine.

It had all been a dream. One horrible dream. He half-laughed, half-gasped as he ran his hands over his body. He was fine. He wasn't dead. He couldn't be dead because how else would he be here?

The door burst open, and with a pile of snow around him in stepped his father, followed by Stoick. The wind battered at the door, which Gobber quickly pressed shut. Snow fell from the men's bodies to the floor.

"Dad!" Hiccup said, stepping forward.

No response.

Stoick dropped into a chair. His beard looked frozen. "This is impossible." His face fell into his hands. "He's not out there. Something has happened."

"He's with that dragon," Gobber said as he sat down. "He's fine. Or if not fine, alive." Despite the enthusiasm he did not sound very sure.

"No. They would have come back by now. It's been three days. He's not coming back."

"Stoick, don't say that. He's just waiting out the storm."

"Hiccup would have returned before the storm even hit! Something's happened. Something is wrong. He's hurt or…" He stood up, grabbed a mug from the table, and threw it into the fire. Sparks burst from the fire pit. He stared at them, chest heaving. "He's never just disappeared."

Hiccup pressed back against the wall. No. He was still dreaming. Everything had to have been a dream.

Gobber sighed. Amazing how he could take it all in stride. Just… making up words How could he possibly do that? Be so annoyingly optimistic. "You've done everything you can. You've gone into the woods, along the shore. Half the village was out looking. Everything is done everything they can."

"I haven't done enough." He shook his head. "I need to get back out there."

"We were just out there. You can't see in front of your face."

"I don't care. My son is out there somewhere in this."

"Yes. Holed up somewhere."

Stoick stared into the fire for a long time. Hiccup did as well. The fire should be warm. But it wasn't. He couldn't feel anything from it.

"I'm going back out," Stoick finally said.

"Stoick, don't. You'll—"

But Stoick had already thrown open the door. Wind howled as the doorway became the next pile of snow. The door didn't close as he stood just outside, staring into the blizzard.

Then he gasped. "Hiccup" came the barely audible whisper followed by a much louder scream. "Hiccup! Gobber, I can see them. They're back."

"What?" Gobber stood up.

Impossible. Hiccup darted across the room.

"I can see the dragon. It's Toothless. I can see him. He's coming." He took a deep breath and called again. "Hiccup! Hiccup!"

A few moments later he moved as Toothless jumped through the doorway, shaking snow from his wings. The dragon looked thinner. What had he been doing? But he was definitely alive. Alive and without a rider. His eyes scanned the room, then he growled and bounded up the stairs.

Toothless was looking for him, Hiccup realized. He thought that maybe he had returned here…

Stoick and Gobber stared.

"Where's Hiccup?" Stoick's voice deathly low. He spun back to the door and called again. "Hiccup!"

The upstairs shook with Toothless' furious movements. For a moment Hiccup considered going up. That was his dragon. His very confused, very upset dragon.

This wasn't a dream. None of it had been a dream.

Outside he could hear his dad calling his name against the howling wind. Gobber was already heading to the door.

Without another thought Hiccup slipped through the doorway into the storm. It was heavier than ever, just white against the darkness.

And the form of his father pushing through the snow up the hill, still madly calling for him. "Hiccup!"

With that the storm was gone. Everything was gone. His dad, the house, everything. And in their place was… he wasn't sure. A roaring sound. He was on his back, staring up into a night sky with stars hanging closer than he had ever seen them, framed by leafy branches of the tallest trees he had ever seen. He coughed and sat up.

He was freezing. And wet. His clothes were sopping wet. He pulled his coat from him. It made a sploshing sound as it landed. He wrapped his arms around his chest and shivered. He was dead, why was he shivering?

Water rushed past him in a narrow stream. The river Gjöll? But the rapids were gone and this was no cave. It was a forest. One for giants, by the look of the trees.

"Disa?" he called nervously.

Just as useless as when calling his dad. He didn't see her anywhere.

Terror struck him.

Somehow he had gotten out of the river. But he didn't remember how. Or even the river.

He had gone back. He had been back in Berk, back in his house.

Had that been a dream?

No, it had been so real. He had seen everyone, heard them talking. Toothless had returned to the house. Without him. His dad had gone out to look for him.

And he had gone back and seen it all.

The last thing he had thought he wanted. He shook his head. "Disa!" he called again. Where was she? "Disa!"

Still no answer. He gazed up the river. All he could see was how it curved from the trees.


	10. The Norns

_Title change: Someone mentioned it, and it just sort of clicked._

* * *

Hiccup unsteadily stood up. Beneath him was a mud puddle, from him or the river or both. The water continued to drip from his clothes and he shivered. The shivering was good. The shivering meant something and for the first time in days he felt real. Real? He had been dragged under the river of death and washed up here. Wherever here was. He stared up again into the giant trees. They were impossibly high, and he felt the surety of smallness he had whenever he stared out into the ocean.

He had gone back. All of this trying to get away from Berk and he had somehow gone back.

His dad had to suspect something now. His dad probably had known it the entire time, just didn't want to face it. Hiccup tried to shake away the image of his father running out into the snow calling his name, like he would be just behind Toothless.

He hated being dead.

A wind picked up. It felt real. Back on the island he had felt nothing. He squeezed the water from his clothes and started walking upstream. What was he thinking, trying to walk back up to Niflheim? He was supposed to be heading to Valhalla to steal something just so he could get into Hel. Like he honestly wanted to go to Hel. Who cared if it weren't that bad? He had lost out on Valhalla by idiotically falling off of a dragon. But if he was going to somehow magically get there, couldn't he just stay? Or would Odin have some special requirement? Like dying properly in battle?

The leaves rustled above, loud as thunder. One of those leaves was probably the size of him. He trudged alongside the river, staring at the slow-moving water. So different from the rapids of the Gjöll in Neiflheim.

Then it hit him. He didn't want to steal anything from Valhalla. He didn't want anything to do with Hel. He wanted his life back. He wanted to go back. He should have never gone with Od. It was all his fault. He should have stayed on the island, as bad as it was. Maybe he should have just hopped back into his body. Become a draugr. Join Disa.

Because that was the most for which he could ask. Because he was stupid enough to forget checking security. Because he was incapable of making a decent harness. How many other people were going to get killed because of his stupid designs? And he couldn't fix any of it because he was dead! He furiously kicked a small rock back into the river. It landed with a deafening clunk that stuck out even among the wind. He had lost everything he had ever cared about. His father. Astrid. His friends. Toothless.

He threw his head back and let out the kind of scream that should make any Viking proud. It echoed against the thick tree trunks and against the water. He screamed until his fell forward in exhaustion.

What did he think he was doing? He was not going to help anyone. His death, his choice.

Then the wind stopped, and laughter rang out in the distance.

"Disa?" he called. It was female laughter.

The laughter came again, followed by indistinguishable voices chattering to one another.

Hiccup took a step forward into the trees. Disa and Modgud?

For a long time he heard nothing, and the wind slowly began to build itself up again. He stared into the cool green darkness, considering the possibility he might be going mad.

Maybe this was his afterlife doom. Suffering in madness.

"We know you're out there." The voice was distant, yet far too loud. A woman's, friendly and slightly mocking. Never a good combination.

Hiccup remained where he was.

"He stops," another voice whispered far too loudly. "I think you may have frightened him, Urd."

"He'll come. He's curious. Heroes are always far too curious for their own good. Have patience, and watch."

Well, now he definitely wasn't going.

Laughter. "He's fighting it. Stubborn one. They're always stubborn. All right, Skuld, how much do you bet he'll stand in one spot for an hour?"

"I say a day. One of Midgard's days. One nice big Hawk egg and a chance to throw something at Ratatosk."

More laughter. "This is getting exciting. I still predict he'll come. He was no other choice beyond standing there like a fool, coming, or leaving. Find his thread for me. I'm sure it's somewhere among the rubbish. Let's see for certain he does."

"You always spoil the fun, sister! Call to him again. See what he does. Without staring at a stupid thread."

All three voices laughed.

"We know you're out there, boy. We know everything. Come here, Hiccup. We promise we won't bite."

Apparently it wasn't looking like he had much of a choice. He sighed and followed the voices.

They had been distant. The forest continued, the path stretched on and on, and still the voices sounded distant and yet so close. And they continued to taunt him, laughing and calling and then talking amongst themselves. Why was he going toward them? Clearly a lack of anything better to do.

And then he was there, standing in a small clearing at the base of a tree that made the giants around him look like weeds. It drew his eyes up, daring him to see the top. All he could see was the continual stretch of trunk disappearing into a distant cobweb branches and finally a single point somewhere above. Inside something plunged. It was like being dropped down a deep hole.

"Look away," a voice whispered.

No. The falling sensation was too strong. He could not pull his eyes away.

"Look down," another voice whispered, right in his ear.

The tree was so tall…

"Look at us," whispered a third voice. This time a hand took hold of his chin and yanked his head away.

For a moment the world spun. His legs shook as wind roared in his ears. The ground rushed up toward him, but at the last moment arms caught him. Slightly more aware of himself, he allowed himself to be lowered to the ground.

"I hate it when they do that," a woman said, clucking her tongue

The shaking world slowed to a stop. Hiccup blinked, then coughed, trying to remember just where he was. He had heard voices, he had followed them because they were making fun of him, and…

Three beautiful women smiled down at him. At first glance they seemed identical: unbound blonde hair, green hooded cloaks, ice blue eyes. He felt himself blushing, and struggled to sit up.

"You looked at the Tree," giggled one. He recognized her voice as the first he had heard in the woods. Her hair was much curlier than the others. "It's not wise for a mortal, even a dead one, to look at the Tree."

"How can anything be that tall?" Hiccup asked as he lifted his eyes again.

The woman pulled his chin down. "Don't," she said solemnly. "Don't look up. You might as well drown yourself."

The other two woman helped grabbed his arms and pulled him awkwardly to his feet.

"Urd is right," said one. She seemed the shortest of the group. "Yggdrasil is incomprehensible to you."

Hiccup resisted another urge to look up.

"Don't look at it," she said. "It's next to impossible to awake people from it after so long."

"Now, Hiccup," said the third woman. "You've been through a lot. Take a seat with us." She gestured to a circle of four stools surrounding a pile of spindles and thread. "We prepared one just for you when we saw that we were going to have a guest." Her hand securely around his arm she moved him over to a stool and sat him down. Her strength was amazing.

His mind finally caught up with the rest of him. "Where am I? And who are you?"

The woman laughed. "I'm Verdande. These are my sisters Urd and Skuld. And you are right at the base of Yggdrasil. I believe you just crossed over from Jotunheim. "

"I was just in Niflheim."

"We know," said Skuld as she sat down on the stool next to him. "Fell into the river. I always said that river was dangerous. Good thing you're already dead."

"Fell off a dragon," Verdande said, shaking her head. "When a storm was coming and the stirrup was bad. Stupid."

"Don't remind me," said Hiccup.

Urd laughed and ruffled Hiccup's hair. "Boys will be boys and boys don't think. Even Hero's threads can be remarkably short. Let's see, where did we put it?"

"Now you want to get it out?" Skuld looked annoyed. "Now that the fun is over?"

"Yes." Urd was already digging through the pile of threads. "It wasn't very long ago that it was cut. I cut it myself."

"My thread?"

"Yes, Hiccup. Your thread." Verdande joined in the digging. "Aha! Here it is!" Smiling broadly, she held up a golden but very short thread. "Heroes' threads are always short. Though I must say this is one of the shortest. Once again, stupid boy."

"Knew it from the moment we spun that one," said Skuld.

"I don't think I get what the thread is," Hiccup said, though he was beginning to have a rather grim idea.

"Your life, silly. What else do you think Norns do?"

"Much more interesting and meaningful than all that battle fanciness the Valkyries weave," said Urd with a sniff. "I have a few of their life threads right here." She pulled a box out of seemingly nowhere."

"Urd," said Verdande. "No more pretending to cut a Valkyrie thread!" She sighed, then smiled warmly at Hiccup. "We honestly could not care less what the Valkyries do. We just hate it when their weavings get more credit than what we do."

"You spin lives?"

"Indeed we do. We are Destiny."

"You, Hiccup," said Skuld, taking the thread away from Verdande, "were a hero. Nothing better. You saved your tribe from imminent disaster and revolutionized a species relationship. Impressive. Monster killing always looks good in mortal sagas. Too bad you messed up on Valhalla or Folksvangr. Odin and Freya love their heroes."

"You could have changed that," Hiccup said. He didn't want to be thinking about Hel's request and Valhalla. "Thank-you so much for spinning that thread with a bad ending."

"We weave what we weave," said Urd. "We don't pick anything and we can't be bribed. Besides, it's a little late for that complaint."

He figured as much. He sighed. "What happens next?"

"We only concern ourselves with lives," Skuld explained. "We saw you coming, of course, but we can't be bothered with the fate of a dead boy."

"No offense," said Urd, "But we really don't care what anyone does after death."

"Can I see my thread?" Hiccup asked.

Skuld looked to her sisters, then shrugged. "We're done with it. So are you, but sure, have a keapsake."

Hiccup took the thread. It looked like ordinary thread. It was about as long as his hand. The only extraordinary thing about it was that it was golden. Without thinking about what he was doing, he tied it around his right wrist. "How do I get out of here?"

"The way you came," Verdande suggested. "It all depends on where you want to go. I heard that lunatic Hel asked you to rob from Valhalla. Do you want to do that? One of the branches leads right up to Asgard… though I really wouldn't recommend going so directly on the Tree. So. Where do you want to go?"

"Home," came the first response. He wasn't sure that was what he wanted.

The Norns exchanged sympathetic smiles.

"Homesick, are you?" Urd squeezed his hand. "Poor boy. Are you sure that's what you want?"

He thought of his father outside, Toothless scrambling up the stairs, and shook his head. He didn't want to see anymore of that. But he didn't want to go anywhere else.

"Uncertain." Verdande grabbed his wrist. "Do you know what this thread is? This is a Hero's thread."

Skuld laughed. "You're dead, Hiccup. Nothing worse can happen to you. You're past it all."

"What are you talking about?" he asked, pulling back his hand.

"You can do whatever you want. Steal a cup from Valhalla if you want. Don't feel you need to Hel. Your body is buried under ten feet of snow. It's frozen. Until you're found or you decompose, Hel has no claim over you. No one does."

"How long?"

"We won't say," said Urd with a laugh. "But I think that if you take advantage of this time, look around, you'll find where you're supposed to be." She took his hands and pulled him to his feet. "You should go."

And then she and the other Norns were gone. So was Yggdrasil. He was back by the river, heart pounding.

* * *

_Yggdrasil: The World Tree. Literally. We don't get it, either._

_Norns: The lovely mysterious ladies who spin the fate of everyone._

_Jotunheim: Home of giants/trolls or "jotuns"._


	11. Jotunheim

Great. Right back to the beginning with still no clue where he was. Oh, no, he had been told that. Jotunheim. Fantastic. And just where was that in relation to everything else? Hiccup plucked at the thread around his wrist. His very own life thread. Cut and useless. He sighed and gazed upriver, wondering if the river poured out of Niflheim at some point. Would the same river flow through Jotunheim? And where exactly did he plan on going? The Norns' advice had been vague. Inspiring, but vague.

All right, Hiccup, he thought. Think rationally. Perhaps Od and Disa were looking for him. Maybe not Od, but Disa certainly would be. No doubt they had seen him enter the water. Which meant they would have moved downstream. And since he had no idea how much time had passed, they could very well be past him by now and moving upstream would be a huge mistake. They might as well all head in the same direction. He turned downstream.

The trees no longer seemed to tower, not after staring at Yggsdrasil. Now they were but pathetic saplings that just happened to be larger than anything he had ever seen on Berk. He stayed close to the river, imagining the water eventually leaving this place. How far into Jotunheim was he? He wasn't going to run smack into Jotuns, was he? What would they do with a dead person? Would they even be able to see him? But the woods were as of yet uninhabited. No messy civilizations to get in the way, and the darkness overhead gradually gave way to the orange light of dawn.

He didn't feel tired. It was a pleasant feeling. A walk that should have thrown him to the ground in exhaustion meant nothing. He left no footprints, either, in the soft soil. The river had managed to drench him, but then again it had been a river of death or whatever. Beyond it, he was practically nothing. Eventually animals appeared, extremely large squirrels and birds that paid him no mind no matter how close he came. He even called to a few of them, with no resulting reaction. He was nothing.

It was oddly thrilling. Who hadn't wanted to be invisible at some point?

At least, it was thrilling in this world. Back home, not so much. He still could not shake away that image. It had felt so real. If he had gone back, really gone back, could he not do it again?

The giant trees abruptly ended atop a hill that plunged deep, and the river gave way again to rapids. Not exactly a waterfall, but enough of a grade that Hiccup was glad he had escaped sooner. Lowlands stretched out before him under the morning sky. The forest seemed to be gone, but a few trees managed to hold their own on the plain. The plain looked almost as bad as the one in Hel. That plain had merely been dull. This one was struggling for survival. Stiff yellow grass pushed from the ground, and all was covered in the thinnest layer of frost. The river, after its tumble, faded through the plain until a mere brook trickled into a grayish lake. In the distance Hiccup could make out dwellings, but they were too far to concern him.

What did concern him was the sight of a circle of three persons standing at the base of the hill. For a moment he panicked, still thinking of Jotuns, but the shock of white hair was reassuring. He had never been so glad to see the draugr in his life.

"Disa!" he called out as he tried to figure out the best way of getting downhill. "Disa!"

Three faces turned upwards, Disa, Od, and someone new.

"Soul boy!" Disa called happily, waving her arms. "We thought you were dead! Again!"

Hiccup wound up crawling down backwards on his hands and knees. Awkward, but it worked. "Oh, I'm so happy to see you! I figured you would have followed the river…"

"River?" Od asked, gazing out to the shrinking water. "Ah, yes, the river of Niflheim. Were we there?"

The new man laughed. He didn't look like a Jotun, but a human. A perfectly ordinary human with blonde hair and beard. "I take it this is the missing member of your party, good sir."

Hiccup finally stumbled to flat ground only to have Disa's bony arms around him. "Don't ever do that again! What did you do Garmr? What possessed you to infuriate the dog of Hel? Next time you go there throw a rock at the rooster and bring on Ragnarokk."

"He liked me the first time I went through the gate," Hiccup said as he tried to free himself.

"Animals. Never trust them. Didn't one throw you off?"

"Toothless didn't throw me off. I fell."

"So you fell into the Gjöll," Od said thoughtfully. "Fascinating. How was it? The water of the Gjöll. I can only imagine what it was like."

Hiccup wondered why the god did not just throw himself in to find out. "Like drowning. It was water."

"Nothing more?" Od sounded disappointed.

"Nothing more."

"How sad." He bent down to pick up a frost-covered blade of grass. "The waters don't even warm the icy fields of Jotunheim. I suppose when I saw you go under so quickly that the water would mean something more. I was wrong, apparently."

"Ignore him," said Disa as she smoothed Hiccup's hair. "I'm just glad you're all right."

"I'm dead," Hiccup replied. "What else can possibly happen to me?"

"You'd be surprised," said the stranger.

"Who are you?"

The man smiled the warmest smile Hiccup had ever seen. It was so comforting it was creepy. "No one. A traveler like yourselves. I just met your friends. They were asking if I had seen a small and skinny dead boy. And here you are. You may call me Leiknir."

So this Leiknir could see the dead. "What are you?"

Leiknir just smiled. "I understand. You're dead. Not used to being seen by normal folk, are you? Not fun. I won't go into the boring details. Just know that I'm a friend." He bent low in a bow. "I should be off, then, unless I can be of any further assistance." He sent the same beaming grin to Od and Disa.

"Depends on the assistance we will need," said Od. "So, Hiccup, what did the great Hel have to say?"

That long story. "She said no."

Od sighed and frowned. "I was afraid of that. I had hoped, of course, but I was afraid of that. I should have gone in. I might have been able to reason with her."

"Reason with Hel?" Leiknir laughed. "How funny. She can be very stubborn. Even the best of her moods won't do much."

"You've met her, then?"

"We're very close."

"Well, I could have used you on my side when I went in there," Hiccup said. "She did offer a deal, though. She wants something from Valhalla."

Leiknir doubled over in laughter. "What a girl! I would have never expected that from her. I know she despises Valhalla, but stealing from it is something altogether refreshing. Valhalla!"

Hiccup wished Leiknir would be on his way.

The man finally regained control of himself. "I can't believe she let you go in one piece. You may be useless to her in your current state, but I imagine she would have wanted to have fun with you. Sic that dog of hers on you."

"That's probably what happened!" Od said in epiphany. "How tragic. So a cup or something? That should be simple. I could easily get a cup from Vallhalla. Perhaps. I don't know what Odin would think of me right now marching in there."

"You can't steal from Valhalla!" said Disa. "Odin would tie you up and torture you."

"He would never do that to me."

That would be an image. Od strolling into Valhalla, making small talk, picking up a cup, and going on his merry way. Hiccup almost smiled. "She wants me to do it."

"How would she know who took the souvenir?"

"That was her deal. She would let me in now if I stole something from Valhalla."

Od laughed. "You're incapable of stealing anything from Valhalla."

All right, so Hiccup had never stolen anything in his life, but he supposed if he really needed to. He shook his head and tried to ignore the burning resentment. "It's okay. I really don't think I want to wind up in Hel if I can help it."

"Oh, it's not that bad."

"I know, I saw. But really, is there anywhere else I could go?"

"You just don't want to brave Valhalla and Odin," Leiknir teased.

Hiccup was really wishing he would leave. "I'd prefer Valhalla to Hel. If I have to sneak in there, I might as well stay there."

"In Valhalla." Leiknir snorted. "Non-stop mindless partying and killing. And here I was suspecting you were smarter than all of that. Come on. How hard can it be to steal from the meatheads inhabiting that hall? Folksvangr, now that would be a challenge. But anyone could do Valhalla."

"Then why don't you do it?" Disa asked. It was clear she was also becoming annoyed with him.

"I didn't say I wouldn't do it, dear lady. It's bad form to push the assignment onto me when I'm not even involved. Very bad form. But since you asked, right now I'm actually trying to figure out the best way to do it. Of course it would require getting into Asgard in the first place. Oh, what fun that would be for you! Dangerous, but you two are dead and you're a god so I'm not sure what the real risk is." He rubbed his hands together, eyes sparkling. "I just don't want to take away the challenge from the one to whom it was assigned."

"Nice. Sir, you can be on your way."

"Of course. I had no intention of intruding. I just wanted to know if there were anything else I could do for you." He bowed even deeper. "Head east. You'll hit Midgard in no time, if you were looking for a way out." He set off toward the buildings.

"He didn't say one useful thing," said Disa with a shake of her head. "Annoying. Just plain annoying. Hiccup, you're not going to take on Valhalla, are you?"

"No." At least he felt somewhat sure of that answer. "It sounds like a lot to do just to go to Hel, which is where I'm going to probably eventually wind up anyway."

"A very dull ending," said Od, turning east.

"You have no idea. Why are we doing east? Are we actually trusting him?"

"No, though he is right on this. Midgard is to the east."

"So we left the island for nothing, then?" Disa asked as she started after Od. "Your plan of quickening the afterlife was for nothing?"

"Well, we could ask Odin or my wife. But Odin is stern and so are his rules. I will never understand the Aesir. So obsessed with rules. Freya… that would be tricky. I don't know if she would be happy to see me or try to kill me."

It was difficult to imagine Od as married to the great Freya.

"We could speak to them, if you wish. You could even attempt to steal from Valhalla, if you change your mind. Or I could take you back to your boring old island."

"I saw it," Hiccup said without thinking.

Disa stopped. "Saw what?"

"The island. Berk. When I fell in the river. I… I guess I went back there. It might have been a hallucination, but it was so real."

"Oh." She resumed walking. "That's nothing."

"Nothing? You mean I imagined it."

"Tell me more," said Od. "This is fascinating. The works of the dead!"

"You souls can do it. You're still attached to that body. Not as much as I am, clearly, but your body is still on that island and that island was your home. It's very likely you would slip back there. How do you think I manage to move my corpse through walls? Souls do all the time, move around like that. It's very annoying to watch."

Leiknir had been right about going east. The plant life began to shrink to something more normal and less icy.

"So I did go back? Can I do it again?"

Disa nodded. "But I thought you didn't want to be there."

"Well, yeah, but… that's kind of cool."

"I will never understand you, soul boy."

"So what do I do?"

"Concentrate. Hiccup, you're not going to do it right now, are you?"

The last thing Hiccup saw before closing his eyes was Disa looking exasperated and Od stopping to watch.

Hiccup stopped, too. Probably not a good idea to flip back while walking. Maybe he could do something if he went back.

"Hiccup!"

"Let him focus!" Od said.

Being knocked into a river had been different. No time to think. He just thought of Berk, of his body. He wasn't sure why. Could he do something? He was at least curious.

He might as well have been thrown into the river, for the icy sensation. It was sudden. One moment he was there in the plains, the next he wasn't.

He was some place colder than the river, much colder, though the thread around his wrist burned.

And he was stiff, horribly stiff. It was all he could do to jerk his arm. Something was around him. He forced open his eyes after several attempts. Darkness. First solid, then hazy. Once more, his perfect vision came to his aid. It was more than darkness. It was solid. Wet. Cold. Yet not quite so solid. Impossibly tiny pieces of ice crushed together.

He was staring up into snow.


	12. Draugr

Snow. It didn't make any sense. But there it was, the dark-yet-crystalic surface. All he had wanted was to see if he could send himself back to Berk and here he was staring at snow. He tried again to use his arms and hands and this time managed something. He wriggled and kicked until the snow yielded. Shouldn't he be able to just go through it if he were nothing but soul? Bits of snow tumbled onto him. Freezing. He managed to get his hands up to claw the surface above him.

A theory was slowly forming in his mind. Staring up into snow. Surrounded by snow. His body so heavy and stiff.

His body…

It wasn't possible, but the idea was energizing. He pushed and twisted and kicked and more snow gave way until there was the beginning of a tunnel above him. If it were his body, Od said he had dug it up. But there had been more snow. But still…

At last he broke through into fresh air filled with snow. But it was fresh air and he could feel it. Sort of.

He could scarcely move outside of being buried in snow. He fell to the ground, feeling like he should probably be gasping desperately for sweet air. But he had no real urge to beyond that knowledge.

He stared about him. The clearing where he had fell, where he had died. Peaceful and haunting and still trapped in a snowstorm. The clearing on Berk. He had done it. He had sent himself back on purpose, whatever good that was worth.

But it was good. He had not only sent himself back, he had sent himself back into his body.

Body. Wow. That was the first he had let the thought come true. But here it was. He stretched out his hands the best he could, which was not far at all. Blue and black, covered in frost. His body.

What did that mean? Was he… alive?

No, he couldn't think that thought, it wasn't right. They had said it was impossible. Everyone had said it was impossible.

He didn't believe in impossible. He had his life thread, cut but golden. Maybe it had done something and he could just go back home and all would be okay…

Though he could barley move.

He stared at his arms again. Not the black and blue of bruises. Frozen tissue. No, being under the snow for the past few days should have kept him warm. Though the outside skin… it did get cold. And if he hadn't been generating any living body heat… And if the muscle was dead…

His neck was very stiff and refused to cooperate properly, but he finally managed to look down at his chest. Immediately he wished he hadn't. Still the great big gaping hole into his body with broken ribs sticking out… He felt like he should be sick, but he wasn't. He couldn't be because being sick would require a working body. A living body.

He continued to investigate himself. Right leg… twisted to the side. Nasty dent on his forehead. Wind he could feel through that nice little open cavity in his abdomen.

This body was not alive. He was not alive. He was still very much dead.

He was like Disa. A draugr. A walking corpse.

He used another desperate attempt to get to his feet. He could barely move, which probably wasn't necessarily bad as he had no idea what he was going to do now. He hadn't planned this far ahead and he had not planned on returning to his own dead body. But he managed to get up shakily.

Dead body. He did not want to be in a dead body.

The moment the thought was formed something dropped, and he found himself in the rather weird position of standing in the middle of his corpse as it lay about his feet, staring up blankly. Hiccup stared back at it.

Fascinating.

The body was like a tool, something he could move around. A full-body prosthetic. Carefully he lowered himself into it. For experiment's sake.

Yup, he could definitely make it work, he thought as he raised a stiff broken arm.

All right. This could be good. He could move the body himself after all. Take it to where somewhere people could find it. The village itself would probably be a bad idea, but he could wait for the snow to slow and searchers to come out. Then he would dump the thing in a place where they could see it. A perfect plan.

Why was he thinking of his own body as an it? Like it was some tool, something he had built? Though if he couldn't bring himself back to life what good was the body? He would be realistic and let them do something with it and end this soul mess.

Maybe he could just bring his body a little closer to the village. He forced it to stand up again. It was a little easier that time. Lift up a frozen broken leg, move it forward. He had relearned how to walk before, he could do it again. Third time was a charm. Another step followed by another.

Was there a weirder sensation than moving a dead corpse through the snow?

And then it happened. One bad step and something snapped.

He struck the ground after a stiff fall, just in time to hear the cry of "Hiccup!" somewhere in the distance.

Perfect. What better time to fall?

The call came again, but sounded more distant. No. No. Whoever it was going the wrong way?

Could he scream? Get their attention? He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Oh, right. Rib-shredded lungs.

He sat up again and examined what had caused the fall. Nothing much. The prosthetic leg. He knocked it to him with frozen fingers only to notice a chunk of dead leg was still attached. Dandy.

How did Disa put up with this?

The call for him came again, even further away than before.

He wished this body could sigh. Now he was never going to get his body found. Well, at least it was out of the snow. For now.

He let himself fade back to the other word.


	13. Loki

"How was it?"

Hiccup blinked up into the skeleton face of Disa. He was lying on the ground in the pale field, frosty grass poking into his face. "What?"

"The journey back," Od clarified. "How was it?"

Obviously. He was aware of the question. What he was not aware of was how to shake this very weird sensation that his body was once again gone. He stood up slowly, grateful for the fact he didn't have some stiff sack of meat hanging onto him. Movement was so much quicker.

"You didn't stay very long," said Disa, touching his face.

"He was probably just having an experiment."

"How long was I gone?" Hiccup asked, rubbing his head.

"A few minutes." Od pointed to the edge of a grey sea ahead of them, murky with low clouds. "So what happened? I'm very curious. Did you manage to go back to your island?"

Hiccup nodded. "I… I went straight back to my body."

"Like Disa?"

Disa clapped her hands. "I imagine that was useful."

"I was able to dig myself out. Very annoying." He picked up his pace to follow Od, who had continued moving toward the sea. "How did I wind up back in my body?"

"That is where the rest of your souls are. It's perfectly reasonable you would go back."

Od's boat was already crawling toward the shore.

"I'm not going lie. It freaked me out. How do you manage it? You're Miss Crawl-From-Grave over there, happily attached to a rotting skeleton, and you move just fine. Better than anyone living, in fact."

"Why, thank-you." Her empty eye sockets seemed to shine, if that were possible. "The body is very powerful. And you wouldn't believe the power you could have over it. The energy you can force into it once you realize just what you are capable of." She flexed her fingers and smiled. "Truly, draugar are monsters and for that I am utterly grateful. Don't get me wrong, I'd be perfectly happy to be done with this body and leave for the afterlife, but I cannot deny it has many perks."

"I could barely move mine. It was frozen, it was heavy, it was disgusting, my leg fell off. A toddler could have taken me down." He shook his head. Weird, weird event.

"You just weren't used to it yet."

"Yet?" He stared at her in horror. "Yet? What do you mean by yet?"

"Are you going to try it again? You have to. This could be your chance to get your body somewhere."

"Um, Disa, my leg fell off. A little awkward for movement. I know about these things."

"Your leg? You must have been more frozen than I—"

"The fake one. Still very awkward. Winds up as the same difference."

"Fascinating," Od breathed. "I wish I could have been there for it. Another draugr in action."

"I really don't like to think of myself as a draugr, Od."

"You don't like them?" Disa sounded hurt.

Hiccup sighed. "Well, I like you. You're great. I'm just saying the ordeal was very weird and I don't think I want to repeat it. If they ever wander out that way again before there's too much more snow, they'll find my body lying in perfect agony." He shuddered. A thoroughly horrifying scene, too much for anyone to walk upon when looking for him. Maybe he should have spoken with less sarcasm.

"They wouldn't have to dig for you," Od mused. "They would find you, think you had been alive for awhile, and was crawling across the snow in desperation days after the blizzard set in."

"Thank-you for summing that up."

"You're absolutely welcome."

The boat had arrived. It knocked against the icy shore, and Od, whistling, went out to it. He climbed inside and took up the oars, looking happy to be back in the splintery little craft. Disa looked at the water in disgust.

"You want me to get in there. Again?"

"Or be left on the boundaries of Jotunheim."

She grudgingly entered the boat, followed by Hiccup, and the boat pulled away from the shore. The water was pale, nearly white, and looked as it if might possibly be filled with tiny shards of ice.

"So," said Odd jovially. "Where to now?"

Another cold slap of reality. Would staying on Berk be so bad? He no longer knew. "What were your ideas?"

"Return to your home. Haunt the area until destiny happens. Work on getting that corpse of yours found." Od leaned into the rowing. He was excellent at it, better than Hiccup had ever been. "Go to Valhalla. Steal something. Give to Hel. Stay with her for the rest of eternity. But no doubt you would eventually wind up in Hel."

Hiccup dipped his hand into the icy water. The shores of Jotunheim were shrinking back, and much of the land was displayed. Everything was so big. Freakishly big.

Od caught him staring. "Jotunheim. Land of giants. They consider themselves equal to the gods." He snorted derisively at the idea. "Though many of them are quite decent folk. Pity we never had the opportunity to meet any of them."

"I'm glad we didn't," said Disa.

"You never answered my question, Hiccup," Od continued. "Where are we going?"

"Don't I get a say?" Disa said.

Hiccup shrugged. "I don't think I want to wind up in Hel. No one does."

"No one does indeed," agreed Od. "So Valhalla, then. Off to Asgard?"

"To steal from Odin himself?" Disa shook her head. "Just like that Leiknir freak suggested? Where were you going before we got caught up with you?"

"No where in particular. I hate to be bound by such plans."

Wandering the ocean forever with this man. Hiccup bit his lip and decided to just do it, live on the edge. "Valhalla, then. I'm already dead, I might as well take the opportunity to see it."

"Great," muttered Disa. "A bunch of wild drunks."

Od laughed. "I haven't been to Asgard in ages."

So the rowing continued, and the little boat slipped through the ocean as Jotunheim faded into the horizon. Hiccup watched the land shrink back, suddenly wishing he had taken the opportunity to see more of it. He could almost see figures among the trees, probably the same citizens who had lived in the buildings he had seen. Gobber had told him all sorts of stories about Jotuns—horrible stories meant to give horribly awesome nightmares. Jotuns were supposed to be ugly and cruel. It would have been something to see one.

When that land faded, he took to staring out at the sea.

Then out of the corner of his eye it appeared again, the gleaming mist far off in the ocean. Helgasfjell.

"Can we go there?" he asked, already knowing that the answer would be. But if they were about to break into Valhalla, why not a place sacred to Thor?

"No," said Od. "Extremely difficult place. Extremely difficult people. Thor's favorites. Stubborn and crazy, the lot of them."

Hiccup nodded. What did he hope to gain from visiting that place anyway? Yet he could not take his eyes away from the shimmer. Maybe it was the fact that it was hidden. He had always been curious, and it had never done anyone a bit of good to keep something hidden from him.

"So you can get to Asgard from the ocean?" he asked. The notion did not quite fit with his previous ideas of Asgard and its placement in the universe.

"I can get anywhere."

It was difficult to tell what time it was. What light there was seemed to be fading, though Hiccup found it impossible pinpoint the sun in the sky. Where was this place? A normal ocean? The nuances of the afterlife were beyond him. He dipped his hand back into the water. The ice was all gone, and the silver backs of fish could be seen deep down. He watched the shadowy figures move through the darkening water.

Great. He had been reduced to staring at fish without even bothering to catch them. But the conversation on the boat was not exactly the most stimulating, so why not? Some even came near the surface, which struck him as odd for ocean fish this far out. But then again, he had no idea of the nature of this particular ocean.

A silver one nearly broke through to the air. Hiccup jerked his hand back, all the while thinking it was impossible for a fish to harm him.

The fish flipped over on its belly and winked at him.

Hiccup almost screamed.

"Shh," said the fish. "Quiet."

The fish was now talking to him. Hiccup glanced back at Disa and Od to see if they noticed, but Od was humming to himself and Disa was mesmerized by the ocean. He looked back at the fish.

"Death," said the fish. "Such a funny state of being. Very difficult to happen to those like me. How was your visit to my homeland?"

Hiccup opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

"Go ahead. Speak. You're dead and I am a god. I've fixed it so your friends won't notice a thing."

How was that even possible?

"Hiccup, Hiccup, Hiccup," said the fish, shaking its head through the water. "Such a funny little thing. At least you have some common sense in there. It will help out in combination with that, let's be honest, mad streak."

"What are you talking about?" Sure enough, Od and Disa did not notice that he was talking to a fish.

The fish laughed, and it was a very odd thing to hear a fish laugh. "Don't you recognize me? We spoke only a few hours ago. You were saying something about Valhalla and I wondered if you had given that idea some more thought."

"Yes, actually." Hiccup cursed the words the moment he said them. What was he thinking, giving that kind of information to a talking fish? "What do you mean I spoke to you?"

"I believe I addressed myself then as Leiknir." The fish then proceeded to give a rather fishy bow.

"You're a Jotun." He recalled that some Jotuns could transform themselves.

"Very good, Hiccup! A Jotun first and foremost, though so many fools in Asgard had trouble with that concept."

Hiccup paused, thinking. It was impossible. How misfortunate would it be if it were true? "Loki."

Another fishy bow.

Hiccup considered screaming for Od, though it might just be that Od wouldn't be able to hear him.

"So, then. Valhalla?"

Hiccup didn't reply. He had to think this through. Loki wanted to go to Valhalla? Sure, Loki made for plenty of entertaining stories, but now that he was face to face with the god he had to wonder just how safe Loki was. He felt slightly sick.

"I myself have never thought of such a prank. I am quite proud of my daughter for coming up with it, and now I just have to see it through. What do you think?"

"I…"

"I'll be offering my services, of course. It wouldn't be nearly such fun to do it myself when a little speck of spirit and soul is willing to do it. That will be the entertainment. Just think. You, not even having reached adulthood, sneaking something from Odin's great hall. The chaos and commotion such a thing will cause. I love thinking of it."

What had he gotten himself into? Fall off a dragon, sneak into Hel, now assist Loki. He found himself shaking his head. "I can't."

"Are you certain of that?" Loki sounded amused. "You'll have any help you require from me, and I'm very powerful. It won't be much trouble with me around, though if you want more adventure you can always tell me to back off."

"Go away." Hiccup had heard all the stories. Loki was trouble.

The fish's eyes narrowed, and suddenly seemed human. Or Jotun. Or god. Or whatever. "Did you just tell a god to go away?"

Oops.

"Do you have any idea who you are dealing with?"

Somehow, responding to that did not seem such a good idea. He looked around at Od and Disa. They were still in the boat, still near, but somehow seemed very distant.

"I heard you had a little difficult with something back home. I can affect that. The greatest prank you will ever see. For you will be seeing it."

Then the fish was no longer a fish but a man with an arm that was pulling Hiccup into the water.

Not again.


	14. Helgasfjell

Back again. Hiccup didn't think he would ever become quite so sick of Berk, but here it was once again in the matter of a few hours. Directly from the boat into the Berk, fumbling for balance, staring at the same stupid clearing beneath the cliff.

"Are you amused yet?" Loki asked. The god stood next to Hiccup, arms folded casually over his chest, smile on his face.

No. "I was just here," Hiccup retorted. "I've seen it all. Great view."

"Really?" Loki took a few casual steps through the snow, passing through the deep piles as if they were nothing more than air. "I assume that would explain your body being here, then." He waved his hand at the awkwardly positioned corpse. No more snow had fallen, though the sky above seemed to be seriously considering another spill of it.

"Take me back," Hiccup said, trying not to look at his body but drawn to it at the same time.

"No. I find your refusal of my daughter's request boring. I've given you plenty of opportunity to deal with what could be the greatest prank in the history of the world! You have no imagination, Hiccup."

"Why are we here?" He closed his eyes and tried to send himself back once more, but whether it was merely nerves or something real Loki was doing he found it impossible.

"I'm… giving you a reason to give in. I want to show you something. No, not show. I can be a nice guy. I'm helping you out with your problem."

"My problem? Aren't you the god of mischief?"

"Yes. Now just watch, Hiccup. You want your body found, you want out of this mess? Well, I can make that happen."

Somewhere among the trees Hiccup could hear movement, and he felt suddenly cold.

"They'll be here shortly," Loki said. "And you will get to watch."

Did he want to watch? The idea was monstrous. He found himself shaking his head. "I don't want to see it."

"And you're in such a tragic position. Looks like you're only recently dead." He snapped his fingers. "Just wait. A few minutes more. I've called their attention to this very area. Good thing the snow has stopped."

"I don't want to be here."

"Of course you do."

He heard his name still being called. How many hours and days had they wasted so far on that? He could almost make out the individual voices.

Loki laughed.

Hiccup dove toward his body. Amazing how quickly he could connect with it. Once again a draugr. Cold, disgusting, now almost floppy. He pried himself up to the body's knees and stared back at Loki, who was watching him with amusement.

"This is good," said Loki. "Very exciting. How about they come upon you just like that?"

There was still the hole where the body had been buried all this time. Hiccup grabbed the leg and crawled toward it. How did Disa put up with this condition?

Another laugh from Loki. "All that work for nothing. Right back to the beginning!"

"Shut up!" Hiccup's voice sounded gravelly. He rolled back into the hole, body collapsing against the frozen chunks. He stared up at the sky. The voices were so close.

Loki's face peered down. "Shall I cover it up once more?"

Hiccup nodded, though he was silently cursing. How dumb had he been to just leave his body lying out? It would be better if no one found him. So much better.

With a single shove Loki filled in the hole and Hiccup spent a brief moment once more staring into it. Then he released himself to climb up through the snow and onto the ground. He looked back at where the body once more lay. It was perfect. Completely untouched.

"I wouldn't worry," said Loki. "They'll be here soon."

"I don't want to be here."

"Sure you do! Your big rescue! Though the fact you've been dead for several days would put a damper on things, but accidents happen and death is merely another part of life. Just go with it. It might even be cathartic for you to watch."

"I don't want to watch."

"Too late."

Loki's words were timely. A dark figure pounced from the trees, wings spread for balance. Toothless. The dragon paused for a moment, perched on his hind legs, sniffing the air. Then he crawled forward, nose to the snow. Despite his size he was graceful on top of it, barely sinking into it.

"He's up here!" a girl's voice called. Ruffnut. "I saw him jump through."

"I'm not blind, you know. It's hard to miss a Night Fury at this range."

"I'm just saying he acted excited. I didn't call you blind. Hiccup! If you're out here still I'll kill you!"

Hiccup considered running, but Loki grabbed his shoulder just as the blonde form of Ruff appeared, wrapped in furs and on skis. Her face was red from the cold. She looked at Toothless, who was now pawing through the snow.

"Hiccup!" she called again.

"Look for signs, genius," said Tuffnut as he appeared behind her. "Just in case—"

"You're so morbid."

"I'm realistic." He poked his ski pole into the snow.

"No, you're morbid and a pessimist. Though he could be unconscious." She frowned. Her eyes were wide and, Hiccup realized then, frightened. "I don 't see any place to hide."

Hiccup gave a throaty growl and jumped to another section of snow.

The right section.

It was all happening right this minute.

"Toothless is excited," Tuffnut said as he made his way over.

Indeed, Toothless was excited. His claws ripped through the snow with astonishing speed, piling it up to the sides.

"Toothless, stop!" Tuffnut had reached the spot and now shoved Toothless aside the best he could. His voice was surprisingly solemn.

Toothless sat back, still growling.

Tuffnut pulled a shovel from his back and started it into the snow. He too worked fast, but nothing could top a dragon for that and Hiccup was grateful. But there couldn't be much left to dig away.

"What are you doing?" Ruffnut asked.

Tuffnut did not reply. He just kept digging. Then he tosses the shovel to the side and bore into the snow with mittened hands.

Hiccup felt the touch on his own arm. A tingle, and he even looked down at it.

Tuffnut jerked back, and Toothless took the opportunity to jump back into the hole. "Ruff, stay back."

"What?"

"Just… don't come over here."

"You can't tell me to—"

"Just go find the others. Now."

Ruff looked ready to snap back at him, but instead her face paled and she nodded.

Snow crunched near the trees. "Hi," came a soft voice. Astrid. She looked beautiful. "I guess we meshed search areas…" Her voice trailed off as she stared at the twins.

Hiccup twisted from Loki's grasp and shut his eyes. Loki laughed to himself. "That's what happens when you don't listen to Loki."

Hiccup didn't reply. He could hear the voices in the clearing, though the words made no sense. Good. He didn't want to hear it. He just focused on the boat, the ocean, a place where Loki was not. Still he could feel everything, just as if he were in the body still. The digging, the rush of icy air on dead skin. He tried to push such sensations away. The boat. Not Berk. Somewhere else.

Then darkness was everywhere.

"Hiccup!"

He shook, the uncontrollable shake of a fever gushing through every part of him. Above was the sky, warm with the sinking sun. Beneath him he could feel wood, the gentle rocking of the boat. His head was in someone's lap. Disa's.

"You're all right." She removed her hand from his face. "You were gone and then you were here in the bottom of the boat and—what happened?"

He couldn't stop shaking. He could still feel everything, though the intensity was gone. It was like whispers, breezes of movement. The twins, Astrid.

"They found me," he gasped. They finally found him and he was dead.

"Isn't that good?" Od asked.

Hiccup assumed the god was still rowing; he couldn't be bothered with looking around. He couldn't even think of anything but their faces. He go to his knees before collapsing against Disa's shoulder. He was going to cry again. The tears were getting ready.

"I'm so sorry." She hugged him tightly.

That was enough. Only vaguely did he consider how stupid crying was.

"Stop the boat," Disa commanded.

"We're no where near anywhere," Od said.

"Just… stop it somewhere. He needs to get on solid ground."

"The closest island is Helgasfjell. It's impossible to—"

"Try it anyway!"

The argument continued a few phrases longer, but Hiccup barely understood or cared. The boat sped forward with Od muttering something about one just not begging sanctuary from Helgasfjell.

But Hiccup had to admit the idea of the gleaming island was comforting.

Eventually he was able to force himself to stop crying and tried to evaluate just how much he had humiliated himself there, though he was instantly struck back by the idea that maybe he had earned the right to cry. He still leaned against Disa's shoulder, feeling very much like some toddler.

"They're not going to happy to see us," Od complained.

What kind of place was Helgasfjell, then? Hiccup looked up in time to see the great sheath of light stretching high above him. Beyond it was the mountain, just a stretch of water away, high and green and covered with farms and villages. It looked so… ordinary.

But the boat then bumped into the light.

"What was that?" said Disa.

"We can't cross," Od replied. "I told you. And I'm afraid some of them have already seen us. Great."

A few women were gathered on the shore. It seemed they gone down for the mundane task of gathering seaweed, but now were whispering to each other as they stared at the boat.

"Can you get through?" Disa asked.

Od snorted. "I am a god. But—"

"You've never seen Helgasfjell."

Od's face changed. "True." He climbed from the boat and waded toward the shore. He passed through the barrier without a problem.

One of the women, a tall blonde, whipped out a sword from seemingly nowhere.

"Leave," said another. Her hair was dark, and she looked quite young from the distance and carried no weapon, but had plenty of ferocity in voice.

Od held up his hands and said something too softly to hear from the boat.

"Oh, a god!" said the third woman mockingly. "I'm so scared."

Her companions laughed, and the blonde pointed her sword in his direction.

"Maybe this was a bad idea," Disa muttered.

The voices quieted down. Od still held up his hands, and the woman looked just as threatening and continued to laugh at Od. But at least the blonde wasn't trying to run him through with the sword. At least they were sort of listening.

Finally, the women looked at the boat, and the dark-haired woman said something to Od, who nodded.

She darted from the shore and into the water, running as best as she could.

"We've made them mad." Disa let go of Hiccup and went to the side of the boat. "We can leave!"

But the woman paid no attention to her. At the closer range Hiccup could see more of her. She was young, very pretty, and very, very angry. And her attention was solely on Hiccup.

It was when he was scooting away that it occurred to him she looked rather familiar.

She leaned over the edge of the boat and slapped him hard across the face. Not hard, but definitely enough to be a surprise.

"What in Hel's name did you do, Hiccup?" she demanded.


	15. Valhallarama

It was not everyday that one was hit for no apparently reason, and Hiccup had passed the phase of random village kid fighting years ago. He rubbed his cheek; it didn't sting or anything, but the shock value was worth something and in combination with the horror of his body recovery he felt rather lacking in capacity to absorb everything. The think time was lessened further by the woman then jumping into the boat and covering his face with kisses.

Hiccup's brain could hardly take it in. He attempted to free himself, but the effort was not even half-hearted and it all seemed so familiar and even nice and nothing had felt either of those ways in so long. The childish word was out of his mouth before he knew what he was thinking. "Mommy?"

The kisses continued, interspersed with accusing shouts of "What are you doing here?" and "What happened?" and "What did you do?" without a moment to allow a response. Hiccup just let it all happen. It could have gone forever and he wouldn't have minded a bit. Here was a woman he barely remembered and yet everything was familiar and wonderful—her voice, her touch, even her smell.

At last she pulled back to kneel in the boat, one hand still on his face. Tears streamed from her eyes. They were green, just like his. "I can't believe this," she said. "What happened?"

He had to try several times before he could speak. Vaguely he sensed Disa still in the boat, staring on in amazement and willing him to do something. "I…" Not much of a start. "I fell off a dragon."

She nodded and moved her hand from his cheek to smooth down his hair. "I heard something about dragons. No more killing them. Thrilling. I'm sure your father loved that," she finished sarcastically. "That's where this happened, I assume?" She nodded at his legs.

At least she didn't seem to be that mad anymore. "Yes."

But her voice rose again. "What were you thinking? That's not why you're here, is it? No, it would have to be something else! Why would you get on a dragon? That's far too dangerous. Look at yourself, Hiccup. Did you have any idea of what you were doing? Getting yourself killed? What possessed you to get on a dragon?"

He shrugged, having no idea how to explain that one to his mother.

"I can't believe this!" she screamed to no one in particular, raising her hands to the sky. "I have half a mind to go back and haunt your father for letting this happen… You're not even sixteen." She wiped her hand over her eyes. "You shouldn't be here yet."

An odd thing to hear from a woman who barely looked twenty. "Mom." The word was strange to say, but strange in a good way. "Mom, it's not the same. I was four when you died, a lot of time has passed, things are different."

"What does that have to do with you falling off a dragon?" It was scary how bright her eyes went when she yelled. Hiccup felt a terror he hadn't felt since he had died, like this woman could tear him to pieces with these chastisements. "First this kind of injury, and now I find you here of all places! Here! Do you think I wanted to see you at this time? What idiotic thing was going through your head, Hiccup? I don't care if things are different. It's probably wonderful back home! But apparently that wasn't good enough for you and you had to fall off a dragon!"

"It was an accident?" Barely had he spoken when he realized that the truth was probably not the best response.

She nodded quickly, looking disgusted with him. "Oh. I see. An accident. That just makes everything wonderful, then. No problems whatsoever. Just an accident like bumping into something."

"I have a dragon," he tried to explain. "Toothless. We were flying and I slipped off and…. Well, you can obviously see the rest."

"Flying." She put a hand to her head and sighed. "Did you not have any kinds of restraints?"

"Probably not the best," he admitted.

"Of course not. You wouldn't think about that sort of thing. I could have made you something much better." Another sigh. "I can't believe you had a dragon. I never would have seen that one coming."

"He's amazing." How was he to explain Toothless to someone who had never seen him? "Mom, the flying was great. You can't even imagine."

She nodded and wiped the last of her tears away. "Here, let me look at you." She took his face in both hands. "You've grown well. You're very handsome. Though I would have preferred a few more years of growth for you, but you obviously didn't agree." She kissed his forehead and smoothed his hair again. "What does your father think of all this? Your death? He was always so dramatic."

Like she wasn't? Hiccup thought with an inner laugh. "Um… they…"

"They only just found his body," Disa said, finally speaking up.

Hiccup's mother turned to stare questioningly at Disa. "Who are you?"

"Disa. Lived on the island a few centuries back. I ran into your son not long after he fell."

"Oh. You've been with him, then? Thank-you. Thank-you so much."

Disa gave a weak smile. "There was a blizzard. He fell in an area not many go. His body was covered with snow. Hiccup's still attached to his body, so he's gone back a few times. They've been looking for him for days. I'm so sorry to tell you this. They just barely found him."

Hiccup's mother sunk low, looking sick. "I can't believe it."

"I'm sorry," Disa said softly.

"Dad made everyone look," Hiccup said. "He was really worried—"

His mother whirled back on him, eyes flashing. "You couldn't even fly this dragon of yours near the village where you might have been seen?"

"Mom, I'm not four anymore!"

"You made the decision of one. Hiccup, I think it's very brave and wonderful of you that you would fly a dragon and I'm very proud of you, but you could at least do it safely. But that didn't occur to you, did it? And now I come out one day to find you in the company of some scatter-brained god, dead." She sighed and hopped out of the boat. "Come on, I'm taking you to shore." She made her way behind the boat and pushed it through the glimmering wall. It moved through like it was nothing, and Hiccup only felt the barest tinge of something sparking against his skin.

The island was even more beautiful on the other side of the light. The mountain stretched up impossibly high, trees and splashes of green circling nearly all the way to its peak. It sloped gently down into the peaceful notions of civilization—houses and farms and nothing that screamed it was a place of the dead—before making its way into flowers and pale white sand at the beach. The colors made it what it was. Everything had the intense detail of Hel, but the color was the opposite. Helgasfjell was as bright as Hel was dull, and everything seemed so much more alive than in life.

His mother's companions stood on shore, watching curiously as she pushed the boat up. There was a soft bump as the boat scraped shore.

"Valhallarama, this is your son, then?" said the one who had mocked Od. Her hair was pale brown. "I'm so sorry!"

The blonde woman sighed. "Kids. Always trying to get themselves killed. Yours succeeded."

"It's worse," his mother said. "He fell off a dragon. My home has decided to be peaceful with dragons now, tame them and whatnot, and Hiccup here manages to get himself killed on one. Or off one. I gave birth to an idiot. But look! Isn't he handsome?"

Both women agreed, and Hiccup climbed from the boat only to find himself surrounded by two dead women who felt they had to touch every part of his face and declare what a handsome boy he was and how many hearts he must have broken before his untimely demise.

"And this is Disa," his mother said. "She helped him out, so please make her feel welcome even though she isn't properly decomposed, either."

"So much more interesting than a god trying to bother us," said the blonde, gesturing back at Od, who stood oblivious to them all and staring around at the island.

"So this is Helgasfjell," Disa said, looking around. "The Holy Island. I didn't think I would ever see it."

Hiccup stared. It was no longer Disa, but at the same time it was. A quick glance back at the boat made everything clear: a white-haired body lying slack in the boat. She had stepped from her body and what he saw were her soul pieces. No rotting flesh or bones poking through but a woman a few years older than his mother was here with long black hair and blue eyes. Seeing eyes on her was the oddest thing.

She caught him staring and laughed. "What? I quickly discovered I couldn't bring my body on the island."

"This place is holy to Thor," said the brown-haired woman. "You have no body to clutter things up. She did. She can come here upon Valhallarama's invitation but I'm afraid no body still containing soul fragments can be here."

Disa stretched out her hand, smiling. "I missed myself this way. Though the body does have its perks. Od, what do you think of this?"

Od turned to look at her, jolted from his study of is the island. "Draugar are so much more fascinating."

Disa laughed then turned to Hiccup's mother. "We had to get him to shore. Hiccup didn't take the shock of… seeing his body uncovered very well."

"Of course. I would like him here for the time being." She turned back to Hiccup and put her hands on his shoulders. She smiled warmly at him, all signs of yelling gone from her face. She was even prettier when she smiled. "Tell me everything."

Hiccup had always been fairly quiet. His father had never been one for lots of conversation and until recently Hiccup had never had many people with whom to talk. But when one had nearly twelve years of a life to describe it was amazing how much could come out of his mouth. They walked along the shore as he said everything that came into his brain, none of it in any particular order, but his mother just nodded and took it in. Everything he had ever wanted to say. Big things, little events, random observations of growing up. Astrid. Toothless.

It was nice having someone to listen.

* * *

_Note:_

_Viking mythology fairly typically places any and all dead people in either Valhalla or Hel, but closer inspection of that revealed there were other options. Folksvangr is the other "goodie", equal with Valhalla and run by Freya. The Norse even had a concept of just plain heaven "Heofon"—though that might have come with Christianity. However, we stumbled upon mention of a place called Helgasfjell. It's actually a volcanic island, but it was held sacred to the Norse people and was sometimes considered the afterlife reward of devotees of Thor. We probably didn't create the place quite like it was intended, but the idea of this afterlife that was so similar to the life already lived was one that really struck out as poignant._


	16. Making Plans

"So what are you going to do now?" Valhallarama asked.

She and Hiccup sat somewhere on the hill of the mountain, staring down at the ocean. There was no odd barrier of light from this side, just the endless stretch of ocean covered with the shadows of sunset. So time continued to move here, in its way.

Hiccup shrugged. "I don't know."

"Loki is not the best god to have hounding after you, Hiccup." She plucked a blade of grass, stretched it between her fingers, and blew. The whistling echo filled the air. "He's certainly not allowed here, but…"

"But I can't stay here. I know." He tried the same grass whistle with much less success. Maybe if he were in possession of actual breath it would make a difference.

"I'm sorry. It's your… condition, I'm sorry to say."

"I didn't think I would ever so badly want to be properly dead."

"I know." She ran her hand through his hair. "Though maybe if you had been more careful—"

"Mom, I know. I knew it before you did."

She pulled her hand back. "I'm just saying it was really stupid and that I really would prefer you alive. Your poor father. He can't be taking this well. He freaks out over the littlest things. Like one time when you were a baby and caught a cold."

Hiccup gave a small laugh. "Never heard that story."

"Oh, he's always been very fond of you. And now you're dead. He won't be liking that."

Something twisted inside of Hiccup. "I really don't want to be thinking about that right now."

"Well, you're going to have to at some point. You're in a messy situation here. On the bright side, since it's winter, they'll probably burn your body. Much quicker destruction than burying you. I had a pyre, though you probably don't remember that. Definitely the way to go."

"I don't think I want Dad lighting my funeral pyre."

"Someone has to. And he's the chief and your father so that's how it's going to be."

"I don't think I want a funeral." Funerals. His body found. It was way too much to think about.

She laughed. "Very funny. You don't want a funeral, but you don't want to be in this half-state you're in. You'll have to make up your mind eventually about what you want. Your friend Disa may be happy enough wandering the island as some monster, but I don't think you would like that and frankly it's too late."

He groaned and buried his face in his hands. "This is so messed up. How am I supposed to deal with this? Dad'll probably kill someone when he finds out I'm dead and that'll probably be Tuffnut since he's the one that found me and then I'll feel guilty about that even though Ruffnut would find it hilarious even though she's probably traumatized and what is Dad going to do without being eternally disappointed in me? That took up half of his time. And then no one will be allowed near a dragon and for all I know they'll probably start killing them again and then there's Astrid. What is Astrid thinking of all this?"

"Whoa, kid, calm down. I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Mom, it's not fine!"

"Of course it's not now, but…" She sighed and ran her hand through her hair. It was so dark it was nearly black. "Hiccup, there's nothing you can do about any of that. You're dead. It sucks, but there it is. You're just going to have to deal with it eventually. And look on the bright side: Once you're body is destroyed you can finally belong somewhere. Though why you're working to get into Hel is beyond me. You said you were training as a blacksmith. Thor would love that."

"I'm not working to get into Hel," Hiccup said, almost in too whiny a voice. "That was just… something."

"And now you have Loki far too interested."

"Well, what am I supposed to do about that?"

She picked up his wrist and slid her finger over the thread. "This is good luck. As much as luck is worth to you right now, but it is good luck. Would you consider breaking into Valhalla?"

"I did think about it," he admitted.

She smiled again. She had such a pretty smile. "It would be fun."

"And if I got caught?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. The only soul in centuries to attempt to break into Valhalla, caught by Odin himself, thrown out… it sounds great, even in that worst-case scenario. What's the worst that can happen to you?"

Hiccup's imagination was too good. "Chained to a rock for eternity with poison dripping over my body?"

"Please. You're a teenager. You're not worth that much excitement. The thing is, you don't have much time."

"What do you mean?"

She took his face between her hands. "Once your body is properly destroyed, things… are different. Your real journey through death will begin at that point. Not this unofficial god frolic you're on right now. At that time, you'll never get to Valhalla despite the fact it's highly unlikely you'll get there now. But this is a difference between slightly possible and impossible."

"Can't I just finish my death and get it over with?"

"Do you really want to do that?"

He thought about it. A free trip straight to Hel with her insanity laughing at him. "No."

"You're already dead. You're not coming back to life, I'm sorry to say. I just think that if you did manage to steal from Valhalla, you'd have more clout than anyone I know. Maybe you'd impress Odin enough for Valhalla. He does have a sense of humor, I hear."

"But I don't want to end up Valhalla," he said quickly.

"Good. It's for morons. But I think it would be very interesting if you did steal from it."

"How do I get to Valhalla?"

"I thought you would never ask." She stood up, tossing her hair. "That idiot god companion of yours has probably forgotten. Come on." She ran down the hill.

The house she went to seemed perfectly ordinary, small, even a bit dusty, and filled with every normal thing Hiccup would expect to see in a house. "Sorry about the mess," his mother said. "I never did like cleaning. Now… where is it?" She flipped through shelves and drawers until finally giving a loud "Ah hah!" and holding up what appeared to be a dried leaf.

Hiccup stared at her.

"This is for you," she said. "They fall all the time in the autumn."

"Leaves?"

"This leaf is from Yggdrasil itself. One of the perks of this island."

"Mom, it's a leaf." But he took it. It felt oddly warm.

"Yes, it is. You're very astute. But it's still connected to Yggdrasil. You can find your way right to the top of the tree with this."

"I don't get it."

"Od has that ugly little boat of his. The boat will follow the leaf."

"Mom, why did you keep a leaf?"

"We all do. Never know when they'll come in handy. Hm, it's getting dark." Valhallarama pulled a candle seemingly out of nowhere and blew onto it. The flame started. "Are you sure you don't want to see?"

"See what?" he asked, even though he was pretty sure he knew what she was talking about.

"Back home."

"No." He shook his head fiercely. "I don't want to see it."

"I think you should."

"Last time I went back alone I wound up inside my dead body."

"Are you sure you don't want to see? It's too dark for you to do anything else right now."

"No." He crossed the room and sat in a chair. But already his mind was working. No, he didn't want to go back. He didn't want to see any of it. He didn't want his mother watching him with that little smirk, daring him to go back and see what he didn't want to see. And his mind was sneaking back, focusing against his will…

He found himself back in the house. His house, in the main room, hair gently lit by the fire.

He didn't want to see anything. This wasn't fair. He needed to go back.

His dad stared into the hearth, motionless and expressionless, hands clasped behind his back.

Hiccup's body was stretched out on the table, eyes finally properly closed. There. It had happened. They had brought him back. This was the body they were going to burn.

"Sorry, Dad," he whispered, before slipping through the wall.

Outside was no better. The night sky was covered with clouds, though no snow fell, and the ground was a perfect solid white. The village was silent. Hiccup stared out into it. So this was pretty much it. The end of everything.

Then sound came, crunching footsteps through the snow, a figure wrapped in furs with a round, pretty face poking through. Astrid. She shivered despite the furs, and Hiccup found himself moving closer. Her face was streaked with tears. She stopped outside her house, not going inside. Instead she sat down in the snow and stared up at the sky.

Hiccup closed his eyes. There. He had seen what there was to see. Done.

When he opened his eyes he was back, his mother gazing down at him.

"How was it?" she asked.

He shrugged.

"Tomorrow, Valhalla."


	17. Yggdrasil

Dawn was a strange thing on the island of Helgasfjell. Berk had always been proud of its sunsets, but Hiccup had yet to see anything like the waves of red and gold that rolled up from the darkness before bursting into morning blue. The sky was cloudless, and there was not a single thing to interfere with the sight. The change of color was a smooth transition, viewer unable to determine the moment when one shade became the next. Whether it was merely a perfect morning or the light was clearer in the realms of the dead Hiccup was not sure. He only knew he could not stop staring it and he was not the kind of kid that stared endlessly into things like sunsets and sunrises. Now that he caught himself doing so he wondered why he had to leave this place. What rules demanded he couldn't remain as he was? His own mother loved the idea of him staying. Did she get no say on what happened on the island?

But he could feel it, something, whatever one might call it, penetrating through his soul or spirit or whatever he was at the moment. It was like a burning itch, high discomfort, the presence of something that did not want him there. And that frustrated him as he tromped down to the beach. What was the problem? Was he not good enough for Helgasfjell? What exactly did Thor want from his dead people? Was it because he was not properly dead and didn't have all of his souls together? It was all so ridiculous.

And it all led to the most important question of all: Was he really wanting to be dead and where he was?

It was disturbing to think about, so he brushed it aside and tried to fight the force that was wanting him to leave. Fine. He was on his way. He was going to risk his afterlife by storming Valhalla. Did that make the island happy? Apparently so, because the feeling ebbed the closer he came to the water.

By that time the sun had found its morning spot and all shadows of the night were gone. Just clear and pure blue and a stretch of water that made its merge with the sky at the furthest reaches of sight. The day might have purposely prepared itself for yet another boat ride, and Od's little craft bobbed and bumped against the shore in anticipation, Disa's limp corpse still where she had left it.

Od and Disa made their ways to the shore about the same time Hiccup arrived, and Hiccup found himself wondering just what they had been up to, based on Disa's disheveled hair. Probably best not to ask. But she seemed a little sillier than normal and almost drunkenly made her way to the boat.

"I really hate water," she said as she prodded her body.

"But water covers most of the earth!" Od said as he leapt to the oars, grinning. "And we really must be off. Thor's really not too pleased with me being here so long, and when he showed up like he did, when he did…" His smile faded and he shook his head.

"We don't even have a plan!" Disa complained as she tried to fix her hair. It was so pretty as it was. "At least, I don't think we do. Hiccup?" She fixed her gaze, now with rather pretty eyes, on him.

Hiccup' squeezed the leaf rolled in his hands. It did not rip. It seemed the thing was incapable of ripping. So this would be it. He would step back into that boat, sail away from the first place he had felt comfortable since he had died, and follow the noble predictions of a leaf. Great. At least he had a plan to present. "I want to go to Valhalla."

Od and Disa both stared.

"Why Valhalla?" Od asked, knocking an oar blade against the sand. He was impatient to be off.

Disa closed her eyes momentarily. "You forgot. Loki."

"Loki. Yes." The oar nearly fell into the water as realization fell over Od's face. "I had nearly forgotten about that. Him, I mean. I had never liked him."

He had liked the man Loki had pretended to be, Hiccup thought bitterly.

But now Od seemed very much against any idea of Loki. "So you're going to storm Valhalla just because he says so. That's not wise, Hiccup. It's silly. Valhalla is a silly place, come to think of it."

Hiccup glanced at his mother, who stood further up the beach, smiling at him with encouragement in her eyes. With a sigh he turned back to Od. "I want to do this."

He half-expected Od to argue, but that seemed to be the answer that pleased him. Od's grin returned. "I haven't been there in so long, and I don't even know how to get the two of you there."

Hiccup held up the leaf. It was warmer in the daylight. "It's from Ygsdrassil."

Od's eyes shown as he looked at the leaf, and he was once again the god in this for pure adventure. Good. That would be needed. "All right, then. If you're sure."

He could feel his mother still watching him, and the remnants of whatever wanted him off this island twisting through him, begging for that last quick movement to the boat. Valhalla it might as well be. "I'm sure."

"Good. Then let's go."

So it was that time already, then. Why had he planned on this morning? He already felt terrified by the idea and if he had the body to do he might have thrown up then and there. Where had this emotion derived? He turned back to his mother, and half-wondered if the night had been a dream. She had been the last person he had expected to see and now she would be gone again just like that. "Bye, Mom."

She ran across the ground, hugged him tightly, and kissed him on the cheek. "I love you. Have fun."

Because apparently there was nothing more fun than breaking into Valhalla when one had nothing to lose. He smiled, hugged her back, then climbed into the boat. Barely was he in then Od was happily rowing away from the shore. The "get out now" feeling that had plagued Hiccup quickly faded, though he continued to watch his mother as her form grew smaller and smaller the quicker Od rowed.

"Fascinating place, Helgasfjell," Od said mildly. "And now I can say I've been there. So secretive, yet so ordinary when one finally sees it. Such a balance."

"It's beautiful," Disa said. Draugr Disa. She had climbed back into her decomposing body and was once again the horrible monster Hiccup had met.

Hiccup could not help but make a face.

"What?" she said with a smile. "Am I not pretty enough now, Hiccup?"

Uh-oh. "Um… do you really need your body?"

"Till it's gone!" she said proudly, tossing back her now-white hair. "It has so many uses. And so you saw yours?"

Hiccup nodded. "They're going to burn it, I bet."

"Hm. I wish they had done that with me. Well, it means you do not have much time at this task."

When would his funeral occur? "Then we have to move quickly."

"I'm rowing as hard as I can," Od said. Indeed, the oars cut through the water and feathered up in almost a whir of motion. "To Valhalla. Now, if you steal anything, Hiccup, would you really give it to Hel?"

"I haven't really thought that far ahead. I don't even know why I'm doing this, really." Because it was Valhalla. Because he had no good reason not to. Because this was the sort of thing heroes did and it wasn't like it was the first time he had done something so insane. He pulled out the leaf. It was almost burning to the touch. Now just what was he supposed to do with it? His mother had said the baot would follow it.

"I can't believe we're taking instructions from a leaf," Disa complained. "Od's a god. Why can't you go to Valhalla?"

"Technically, I am Vanir, not Aesir. That leaf doesn't care, though," said Od. His eyes were very bright. It must have been the best adventure of his immortal life. "Toss it in. I'll follow it through. It'll get you two in as well."

Hiccup let the leaf fall from his hand. It tumbled through the air and the ocean breeze before finally landing onto the water's surface.

No sooner had it touched the water than a great quake churned through the ocean, sending a wave to take the boat a good ten feet into the air. Disa screamed and sunk to the boat's floor. Hiccup grabbed the edge, but there was no danger of being tossed out, and soon enough the ocean was still. "What was that?"

"A fascinating response," was all Od said.

But the water surrounding the leaf was nearly black, like a shadow of something bigger than the leaf struck the surface. The leaf's tip turned like the needle of a compass.

"That way," Od said, stating the obvious. With a laugh he put even more force into his rowing, and the boat sped forward so quickly Hiccup was thrown to the bottom next to Disa. Yet the leaf moved even faster, drawn by some invisible force to what Hiccup hoped would wind up as Valhalla.

Around them the sky changed from the flawless blue of the morning to a deeper purple even though the sun insisted it was still morning. The ocean grew darker, taking on the same color as it would before a storm, though the wind picked up as if the storm were already happening. But the sky was only the purple color, still with sun, not a single cloud in sight.

Wherever they had been before, now was when Hiccup was positive they were absolutely nowhere near Berk in any definition of near. He had no idea where they were. The horizon was bare.

Od took the entire journey as if it were a game. Of course he would do that. He laughed and sung under his breath as the oars circled faster and faster through the water with only the force that could come from a god, and one as mad as Od. Ahead of him sped the leaf through the water, almost shining green in opposition to the darkness of the water and sky.

Hiccup was not sure how much time passed. He clung in desperation to the side of the boat while at the same time chiding himself for being scared of a boat in the water when he had flown dragons dangerous heights through the air. But all he could take in was the speed of the boat and the darkness around him and Disa whimpering and that leaf ahead in the water.

What was he doing? Something bad? Walking right into one of Loki's devious plans? Was he part of something big or just committing an innocent prank for a couple of gods? Was he going to regret this? He was certainly regretting it at the moment.

And then objects began to appear on the horizon. At first he thought it was land, forested land with trees making up all the view. But what he saw did not fit that. What he saw was impossible, branches reaching from the water, leaves plastered against the sky. And he could hear something, something that sounded like a bird call but too loud and powerful to be anything… but a giant bird.

The bird appeared as nothing but a bird-shaped shadow that swooped over the boat in the blink of an eye. Hiccup could hear the deafening flap of its wings.

"Don't look at it," Od warned.

"Will it eat me or something?"

"Maybe."

The water grew darker. Now it was the water of nighttime. The sky had become a color Hiccup did not recognize and it hurt his brain just to look at it, so he instead watched the water and the branch-like apparitions that grew closer and closer.

Yggsdrasil.

It had come so quickly. Wow. He had maybe expected more time. But Valhalla and Asgard… where were those? He wanted to get to Valhalla, not see the branches of a tree he had already seen.

The bird cried again, much louder this time.

"Duck!" Od screamed.

Hiccup closed his eyes and did so. Something knocked the boat, and water splashed over him. Disa was all out crying.

"You've made him angry, being here." The voice was new, tiny, and full of mocking.

Hiccup opened his eyes. Perched on the gunwale was a squirrel, a very large red squirrel with laughing eyes.

"What's talking?" Disa moaned.

"A squirrel," Hiccup said. "A squirrel is talking." He couldn't believe what was coming out of his mouth.

The squirrel bowed. "If I had any sense I'd bite a hole in this boat and sink you all. But apparently I don't."

"Go away, Ratatosk," Od said.

"Od," Ratatosk said, turning his body toward Od. "Long time, no see. Where are you going? Visiting your wife? Freya is not very happy when your name is brought up."

The wind was storm wind, and a glance upward revealed clouds now covering the weird-colored sky. The boat could flip at any moment and they had to deal with a talking squirrel.

"The Eagle doesn't like you so close to the top of the Tree," Ratatosk said with a laugh. "I don't care one way or the other, but I thought you should best know."

"Can you talk to… this Eagle?" Hiccup asked. He did not feel safe even at the bottom of the boat.

"Depends. What do I need to tell the Eagle?"

"To let us through," said Od. "Asgard. I just want to go to Asgard. They would not begrudge me in Asgard, they never have."

"It's been eons since you've been anywhere near Asgard," Ratatosk said. "Who knows that they think of you now?"

"Make something up!" Hiccup said. "We just need to get through."

Above, thunder crashed, and the air sparked with lightning. Hiccup could no longer see the leaf. If they lost the leaf, they would probably be lost up here, and then what would happen? The response to that silent question was three waves in succession striking the boat.

"You spend all your time delivering snarky messages," Od said. "You enjoy it. Please… just do this."

"I do enjoy delivering snarky messages," Ratatosk said thoughtfully. "All right. Aim for the top. I'll make sure the way to the bridge is clear." The squirrel then dove into the water.

Lightning struck the water somewhere a little too near.

And then the storm stopped.

Hiccup opened his eyes.

The water was clear, and the bottom of the boat barely scraped the bottom. It wasn't an ocean, it was the depth of a mere pond littered with shells and gleaming little fish. And covering most of the pond was soggy ash branches dipping into the water and rising from it and growing from a place Hiccup could not see. The ocean, the real ocean, was gone. Here they were in nothing but branches and knee-deep water. The sky… Hiccup stood up, and nearly collapsed. He was suddenly dizzy, dizzy like when he and Toothless flew too high into the sky and he could look down on everything. Above him was the sun, so much bigger than he had ever before seen it, like he could reach up and touch it. Surrounding it was the perfect blue he had seen from Helgasfjell, but the further from the sun the sky reached the darker it became until it deepened into a starry sky beneath Hiccup. Yes, it seemed beneath him. Dark sky and stars dipping beneath the water and the ash branches.

"Where are we?" Disa's voice was a whisper as she struggled to stand.

"At the top," Od said. "Fascinating, isn't it? If you knew how you could see everything from here."

"The top of what?" Disa asked breathlessly.

"Yggsdrasil," Hiccup said. Where else could they be? No wonder he felt so dizzy. "We're at the top of Yggsdrasil."

"Huh. I thought it would be more impressive than this." She picked up a shell and studied it. "No what?"

"Continue to Valhalla, I suppose," Od said. "We might as well when we're this far."

"Where's Asgard from here?" Hiccup asked. It didn't seem to be his voice working.

"There." Od pointed into the water. Where the overhanging sun struck it was the mild rainbow anyone might expect. Except… except as his eyes followed it continued upwards, pale and long. "The bridge to Asgard."


	18. Asgard

Asgard was not as exciting as Hiccup had expected it to be. Myths and legends spanning eons had created a certain quality that reality just did not meet. Some home of the gods it was, this place that would have been a fair of example of a pretty patch of wherever. The bridge ended in a patch of grass that was equally green and brown despite its obvious health, and that patch of grass led into what merely looked like a wealthy village full of intelligent artifacts. The disappointment was almost heartbreaking. Hiccup had been expecting something, well, cooler. And now if ever met anyone who would ask him in conversation how Asgard was, all he could say was that any villager with access to materials could build anything just as good.

And Asgard was empty. Eerily empty, with the creepiness that belonged to any place recently vacated.

"Where is everyone?" Hiccup asked Od.

But Od did not seem to be paying attention—that was focused on the lay of the land that boasted a nice stretch of forest but nothing to scream about. His gaze was supercilious, and Hiccup realized the god had been much more impressed with Berk, of all places.

Berk. Why did the memory of home have to creep up all over again? What was going on there? Would Hiccup know anything they planned with his body? He imagined he would notice something—that corpse still had a good number of his souls! But the question stronger than that was of what everyone was doing. His father and Astrid had seemed understandably heartbroken and certainly the tribe would be bothered at losing a recent hero. And Toothless. Gods, what was going to become of Toothless? Thoughts flew through Hiccup's head while Od studied Asgard with his ever scientific ways and Disa looked as disgusted and disappointed as Hiccup had felt. Asgard wasn't even interesting enough to keep him from imagining Berk and everything that would be happening. Was his body still lying on a table? Had Astrid stopped crying? What was Toothless doing? What words were being said throughout the village? He felt a horribly delicious sense of pleasure that he might be the subject of praise at that very moment, but he quickly shook that away.

"So this is Asgard," Disa finally said.

Asgard. Valhalla. No time to think of Berk. Hiccup shook his head and tried to focus. He had to be interested. He was here for a reason. "Where is everyone?"

"Don't know, don't care," Od said, ripping his eyes away from the trees and marching forward toward the buildings. "Like anyone actually stays in Asgard. There is too much to do. I imagine Frigg is somewhere with all the rest of the silly women. I bet they're sewing or something equally dull. Skade would be doing something, I bet. She would be off doing something interesting. Skade is fascinating. The rest of them, who knows?"

"So you're saying breaking into Valhalla will be easy?" Disa asked.

Od threw his head back and laughed. "Valhalla is another story altogether. Valhalla is where things will become much more interesting. So, then. Valhalla is still our goal?"

Hopefully Valhalla would live up to the stories more than the rest of Asgard did. Hiccup nodded, and with that nod the idea of breaking into Valhalla became the adventure one would expect. "Where is it?"

Od pointed past the collection of buildings to a field that Hiccup had not noticed before, mainly because it wasn't that exciting and boasted nothing but a few chess tables and a tall, rather crooked, tower. Beyond the field was another piece of forest of yellow leaves. Apparently it was still autumn in Asgard. "There," he said. "In those golden trees is the building Valhalla."

"Golden trees?" Hiccup echoed. "I thought they were yellow."

"They're gold," Od confirmed. "At least, that's what Odin says. No one has actually cared enough to pick a leaf and check."

"They look like dying yellow leaves to me. Sorry." Asgard was never going to impress him.

Od clapped his hands. "All right, then. Through the field of Ida, which looks disappointingly vacant today. I hear it can be quite a happening place at times. Believe it or not."

A chipmunk ran through the field, then paused to nibble on something.

"Yup," said Disa. "Exciting. The tower?"

"Lidskjalf." Od was already on his way, and Hiccup and Disa had to run to keep up with him. "Odin's tower. You can see everything from it. It's taller than it looks."

Hiccup wondered what it would be like to climb it. Would it go higher than flying dragonback? "Have you ever climbed it?"

Od rolled his eyes. "It's Odin's. Belongs to him. Frigg's the only one who can climb it."

As they passed the Lidskjalf, Hiccup could see how strange its height was. What seemed tolerable from back showed something impossibly huge. Wow. He would have to climb it if he survived Valhalla.

"Od!" A female voice broke through the strange silence of Asgard. Hiccup turned to see the most beautiful woman he had ever seen marching toward them. Ida was no longer empty.

"Oh no," muttered Od.

"Who's that?" Disa asked. "Oh, let me guess. Your wife."

Od nodded.

Freya was impossibly beautiful, but looked fierce enough to tear them all limb from limb. Golden hair flowed to her feet, and her blue eyes looked like blue flame. "Od!" she screamed again.

"Freya," he said mildly, with a hint of terror that could not be hid.

She ended her march suddenly right in front of him and smacked him hard across the face. "Where have you been?"

"Around."

"This is just like you," the goddess snarled. "Leaving. Always leaving for one of your adventures. Always something to see. You disgust me. You have a daughter, remember? Noss? Cute little thing? Do you just abandon her?"

Freya. The goddess of love. Finally, something in Asgard that was impressive. Hiccup was very impressed. This beautiful woman would probably strike him dead. And yet all he could do was stare at her in wonder as she screamed away at Od.

"Of course I remembered Noss," Od said, slowly backing away from Freya. "I send her gifts. I send her little trinkets all the time. Like the seashell necklace. Didn't she get the seashell necklace?"

Freya sighed a stunningly beautiful sigh and put her hands on her hips. "Oh, yes, she did get it and every other stupid thing you sent her, but did you ever think of sending me anything? And who's this dead hussy with you? Where did she come from?" 

Disa gave the tiniest laugh that only Hiccup heard.

"But I'm back, my darling," Od said, stretching out his arms. "I'm back and I'm here and you know how much I love you."

Freya narrowed her beautiful eyes. "I heard about Modgud. And at least five Valkyries."

"Like you were faithful yourself!"

And the next thing Hiccup knew Freya and Od had their arms around each other in the most disgusting kiss he had ever witnessed.

Disa sighed. "How annoying. I knew I'd regret Helgasfjell. Ah, well."

At last the kiss was finished and Freya pushed Od away. "So what are you doing here? We both know you don't like Asgard."

"Neither do you. It's nothing like the singing winds world, but oh well. After that witch incident, it's my home and I'd appreciate it if you stayed around now and then." She sighed again, a sigh that was more like a song, and turned to Hiccup.

Hiccup felt his knees go weak and he suddenly wondered if Astrid would be jealous if she knew about this and then decided that since he was dead the matter was behind him at this point. But here he was with the goddess of love, the most beautiful creature imaginable, looking at him.

"Hello," she said sweetly. "Are you here with my wandering idiot of a husband?"

All Hiccup could do was nod.

Freya continued to watch him. "You. You're dead. Recently so. You've left loved ones behind. Tis the nature of death, I understand. There was a girl."

Good grief, she was staring into his brain or something. He might as well have been naked.

"She misses you very much. Her heart is broken."

Hiccup closed his eyes. Why did she have to bring up Astrid?

Freya put a hand on his cheek. "Don't worry. She'll be fine. In time. But she'll always miss you. Does that please you?"

How did one respond to a goddess? He didn't dare just shake or nod his head. "I don't know. Ma'am."

She laughed. "You're very polite… I'm afraid I never learned your name."

"Hiccup, ma'am."

"Hiccup, then." She rubbed her fingers along his jaw. "Again, I'm sorry. And don't worry. It's expected to not know how you feel in matters of the heart." She drew her hand away, and Hiccup felt a sense of warmth he had not noticed leave with her touch. "And yet here you are. A mortal, a dead mortal, in the field of Ida of Asgard. My, my. Is it really so easy for your kind to cross here?" She did not sound angry, only amused.

"Are we in trouble?" Hiccup asked, his voice unnaturally high.

Freya smiled. She was unbelievably gorgeous when she smiled. How could Od have strayed from her? "I won't tell a soul, Hiccup. Or a god. Or anyone around here. Don't you worry, you have my word. But since you are dead, it goes to reason you are either aiming to be with me in my hall or that hideaway of meatheads Valhalla."

Hiccup was almost ashamed to say "Valhalla." But he finished with a strong "But I'm not staying!"

Freya looked confused. She was beautiful when she was confused.

Was this a wise thing to say? But Od and Disa weren't stopping him and Freya no longer looked fit to kill so Hiccup went ahead. "I'm stealing something from Valhalla. That's all . That's the only reason I'm here and then I'll be gone and you'll never have to see me again.

Freya burst into laughter. It was the most enchanting sound in the world. "This is a good one! Loki himself has never done it! I applaud you! Being around my husband has rubbed off on you."

Hiccup couldn't decide if Od would ever steal anything or just study it.

"So if you'll excuse us," Disa said without any jealousy.

"Of course," replied Freya. "You need to be on your way. Everyone is off doing something else, so you should be free to make your way to Valhalla. Except…" She looked around, hands fluttering in the air desperate to grab something, before darting a few yards away and plucking up some rather boring looking plants which she then handed to Hiccup. "For the goat."

"What goat?" Hiccup asked. He hadn't been expecting a goat.

"The goat. The great goat of Valhalla. The place wouldn't run without that beast. She'll bleat out a warning if she sees you, so give her something to eat. It'll be great and you can get in, get out. May I ask what you plan on stealing?"

He shrugged. "Whatever I can get my hands on, I guess."

That seemed to please her even more. "Good luck, then, Hiccup. Not that you'll need it. You seem to be quite the boy." And then she planted a kiss on each of his cheeks.

He could have burst into flames right there.

"And Od will be coming with me," she whispered, taking Od's hand. He seemed only all too glad to go away with her.

"Just follow the path through the trees," he said as he left with his wife. "You can't miss Valhalla. It's huge."

And Hiccup couldn't. The path through the trees that did not particularly look like gold was wide and well-trod. Disa plucked a few leaves and sniffed them. "Well, they're not exactly leafy, but I wouldn't call them gold. They're something else altogether that probably isn't valuable."

No, the trees really weren't all that interesting. And the path could have been any path. It was familiar, and if it weren't for the sounds of battle in the distance he could have pretended he was still on the island. "Are you nervous?" he asked.

"Nervous?" Disa echoed. "Why would I be nervous?"

"Your husband. You told me once that he went to Valhalla when he died. So… you might see him."

"Oh, gods. Him." She tossed her leaves on the floor. "Yeah, that will be fun. I think I'll beat the snot out of him when I see him. He dies a glorious death with Valkyries in attendance and I drown in the ocean." She laughed and rubbed her hands together gleefully. "This will be fun."

"That's it?" The surprise couldn't be left out of Hiccup's voice. "You just want to beat him up? You didn't love him?"

"Of course I loved him!" Disa sounded shocked. "I still love him! He's my husband! All I'm saying that it's grossly unfair that he's in Valhalla while I'm still stuck in my body."

"Don't you want to be with him forever?"

She smiled, not a smile of killing delight but something more gentle. "That would be nice. After I beat the snot out of him, I'll drag him out and I don't know where we'll go. I have so much to tell him. We will have to compare deaths. Interesting conversation you started, Hiccup. What inspired it?"

Hiccup tried to reply, but nothing came out so instead he pretended to look interested in the not-that-gold trees.

"The girl," Disa said softly. "Astrid. Her. Of course. You miss her. You're dead and she's not and everything that could have been is now gone. That's why you're asking about me."

Was every woman out to read his thoughts today? Valhalla needed to move closer.

"I'm right, aren't I?"

Hiccup groaned. "Yes! Yes, you're right! I saw her! I went back when we were at Helgasfjell! I saw her crying over me and now I miss her more than anything and it sucks." Now what was Disa going to say to that? Was she going to pump him full of advice and phrases such as he was dead and needed to get over all of this?

But all she said was "Oh."

That "oh" was enough. It was warm and neutral and caring and somehow it smoothed everything over even if it didn't fix a thing. He took a deep breath, and was startled by what the air of Asgard was like. Soft, spicy, wild.

Except he couldn't enjoy it, because up ahead were the sounds of battle that would become deafening he came close enough. And when they were as loud as Hiccup could handle Valhalla appeared. A lodge, a giant lodge that stretched into the distance. It had to be miles. It was simple, but made of wood that Hiccup recognized as quality. Beautiful wood. Now this was something that belonged to Asgard, even if it every other inch of it was chopped and scarred from weapons.

Now all he had to do was get inside and steal something.

But for some reason, the hall had a goat on the roof. Why there was a goat on the roof Hiccup could not imagine. And as he tried to think of how weird and bizarre that was the goat, which he realized was bigger than any goat he had ever seen, met his eyes. The goat's eyes were red.

A goat wanted to kill him. Again.

Wow.


	19. Valhalla

"A goat," Disa said with mild appreciation and wonder. "Look how big it is! Fascinating!"

Fascinating? All Hiccup could think of was how this thing could tear him and anyone else to bits. Did goats eat flesh? Or soul? He was pretty sure this one could.

The goat stared down from the roof with ponderous demeanor, its terrible red eyes blazing. Were they angry? Could red eyes look anything but angry? Was it the goat's fault it had red eyes? Why exactly was Hiccup wondering on the nature of the goat.

"Gods, I'm glad I never had to milk anything like that," Disa continued as she stepped in front of Hiccup for a better look. "Only Valhalla could produce something like that. That would totally win at any fair you took it to. Hey, Hiccup, I've an idea. Maybe you should steal the goat."

Yeah. Right. Great idea. He wished he had the snarky attitude ready to say such a thing aloud. It would have so suited the moment. Though maybe someone should take the same snarky attitude him. He needed a good sarcastic push if he couldn't handle the thought of a goat. "Yeah? And do what with it?"

"I think she would be a most charming addition to Hel. Just think of it! All that dull grey grass for her to eat! She would love it."

"She?" Hiccup echoed. Well, duh. He grew up around animals. Males and females. Why wouldn't they be any different here.

"Her name is Heiðrún. A special pet of Odin's. Can't even remember where I learned that. Odin keeps goats. I never would have thought of that. Let's go!"

"Hiccup tried to take his eyes off the goat. "But—"

"Oh, she won't hurt you," Disa said with nervousness in her voice. "It's just a goat. She might give you a head butt if you were on the roof with her but she's meant to stay up there. She's a goat. Perfectly harmless."

As if to celebrate such a description Heiðrún rose to her hind legs and bit leaves from a near-hanging branch. Pieces of leaves fell from her mouth as she chewed.

Maybe it would be really cool to steal a goat, Hiccup thought as he neared the Hall. Then he wondered what he could practically do with a goat until he did… whatever with it. If he were to give it to Hel or even Loki, did he want anything in return?

Which put another thought into his head: Did Loki expect him to give him anything?

Hiccup would let the goat stay where it was. He was about to enter Valhalla, the dream destination of every Viking warrior out there. And he hadn't even managed to be lucky enough to die in battle.

He stopped at the great doors, suddenly nervous. They were at least four times his own height and seemed as thick as any house of Berk. And the wood… from the distance he had not appreciated the wood nearly enough. Not nearly enough it all. It was smooth enough to be stone, yet bore all the wondrous marks of any tree. It felt sacrilegious to touch it.

"Let's go!" Disa said, bursting past him and forcing the doors open with her bony hands. "There are so many other things I would rather see in this place than the afterlife of my idiot husband."

The doors opened with her touch, swung wide open as if they had been blasted open by an entire army. There was a deafening crash as they banged against the side walls, and Hiccup put his hands to his ears to stop the ringing.

Up above, Heiðrún bleated crossly. Great, Disa had upset the goat.

Funny that was the first thing on his mind. As Hiccup stared into the impossibly vast space of Valhalla all he could think of was how many goats could dwell on top of such a building. Looking through the hall was like gazing across the ocean or into the sky.

The hall did not end.

At least, he could not see the end. That was the only explanation because of course it was a building that had been built and thus had to end at some point. Unless there were some carpenter down at the very end still hurriedly erecting scaffolding and throwing perfect planks of wood upon them as more and more dead warriors entered the hall. There had to be an end. Never mind that it was just as impossible so large a building could exist.

One could be lost in here forever.

Not that there was any place to get lost. It was merely a hall, ever so simple and straightforward as one could want. Tables and benches were crowded every which skimble-skamble way. Trophies of animal heads, some of which Hiccup had never even heard, lines the walls betwixt shields and swords and what appeared to be blood stains.

Valhalla, Hiccup thought with some impressment.

"Stealing time," said Disa.

Hiccup nodded. "Right. Stealing time." He hesitated. "Do any of you see how huge this is?"

"Of course," replied Disa. "I'm staring right at it. Just because I don't have eyes doesn't mean I can't see. I guess I've been dead long enough not to be impressed. It's a hall. For drinking. For men. Do you think I care? Steal something!"

Hiccup stepped into Vallhalla. His footsteps echoed. "Steal what?" The task was suddenly overwhelming. He could steal anything from here. The tables were lined with surprisingly shabby platters and mugs. Silverware did not seem to exist. What was used for cutting meat? Swords? Probably.

It just seemed that if he were going to steal from Valhalla, it might as well be something good. Impressive. Something that screamed Valhalla.

Maybe he should just go with Heiðrún. Goats were useful.

The hall called to him, as if it wanted him to steal and it was willing to show all of its contents. He slowly trudged down it. If it weren't so huge, he would think he was in any other dining hall.

So easy. All he had to do was reach out and take whatever he wanted. Maybe a weapon from the wall. That was impressive. That was something a hero would take.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Hiccup screamed and dropped the plate he had picked up. Not to steal… just to see how cool it was. It shattered on the ground.

Disa choked back a scream of her own and put her hands behind her back. No doubt she was stealing something for herself.

A figured stepped into the light. A woman. She was beautiful and powerfully-built, but seemed rather bored and exhausted. Pale blonde hair fell in braids down to her feet. She was dressed as a warrior in the finest armor Hiccup had ever seen. She looked at the shards of dish and sighed. "Great. Another one. You're worse than the warriors."

Hiccup cleared his throat as he tried to think of a response. "What makes you say I'm not a warrior?"

She rolled her eyes and laughed. At the same she snapped her fingers, and the shards flew to her outstretched palm. "Please. Look at you. Puny. Pathetic. Oh, I'd agree that you could have died in battle, but there is no way you would have been selected for Valhalla. You would have been Freya's. If she had taken you. Though you look her type. You look smart. But me? I would have laughed your sorry ass on the battlefield."

The woman was a Valkyrie.

"Does Odin know you're here?" she continued. "The Great God gets rather testy when his hall his trespassed. Actually, it's never happened. No one dares get this close. Not that it's particularly threatening or anything." She waved her hand as if she didn't much care for the place. "But it's Valhalla. So special. Trust me, the real is action is back behind in the field. So maybe you and your friends should leave before the days ends and everyone returns starving." She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Apparently the best time. Eating. Drinking. Poor Heiðrún practically drains herself of mead. And what do the Valkyries do but cater to their every whim?"

"I…" This was ridiculous. He was here to steal something, and he was about to be talked about by a woman? He hoped Astrid would never know he thought that.

But the Valkyrie continued to look at him. "Though maybe you do belong," she said slowly, softly. "You… seem to be a warrior. No, not a warrior. A hero. Something much better." Her pretty face slowly lit up with a smile. "Maybe I would have picked you."

"But he didn't die in battle!" Disa burst in. "He fell off a dragon."

The Valkyrie didn't seem to believe her nor particularly care. "Whatever. Stay for the feasting. I don't care."

"But I need something," Hiccup said. He didn't even realize he had wanted to say it until it was out of his mouth.

She raised an eyebrow.

Heroes weren't sneaky. Heroes were bold. A hero would rise to the challenge. He met the Valkyrie's eyes. "I came here to take something."

She seemed mildly impressed. "Take what?

"Anything," he continued. "Anything that would be a token of Valhalla."

"Ah." She put a hand to her chin. "And I assume that by take you mean steal. You, boy, are aiming for a heap of trouble."

Did heroes steal?

"Well," she said with a laugh. "You are a bold one indeed. You want to take a cup. They're made of solid gold, made by the original dwarves of the world themselves."

"A cup." Sounded simple, yet impressive. "Well, then, can I have one?"

She laughed again. "Of course not. You want something, hero? Earn it."

"Okay," he replied. "Reasonable. What do you want me to do?"

But her eyes were now on the gleaming golden thread around his wrist. "Norns," she said. "You've met the Norns. Ooh, you are interesting indeed!"

Before he could do anything, she had torn a sword from the wall and thrust it into his arms. He almost tumbled to the ground. It was the biggest sword he had ever held. He doubted his dad could handle it. Then she strode over to a wall and pushed open a door he had not even seen. It seemed to have appeared straight from the wall.

Sunlight poured into the hall, as did din. Blood-curdling shrieks and blood itself.

Outside the hall was war. There was no other way to describe it. Bodies and body parts littered the ground that seemed to be nothing but a pool of blood. Countless warriors wielded weapons they chopped and stabled into each other.

Ah. The other side of Valhalla.

The Valkyrie turned back to Hiccup grinning. "I'll give you one of Odin's own cups. You can't ask for anything better. But first, you fight someone. And win."


	20. Battle

Oh, gods. Hiccup stared out from the safe protecting walls of Valhalla into the biggest celebration of guts, gore, and glory he had never dared imagine in the craziest story he had ever heard. Instinctively he stepped back, so much of his mind ready to turn, run for it, and pretend this stupid trip up here had never been the least bit planned or intended. What had he been thinking? What had Hel and Loki been thinking? This was supposed to be easy? No wonder no one had ever heard stories of anyone doing such a thing. No wonder Hel and Loki had been so tickled by the idea.

And Hiccup had been stupid enough to fall for it. Break into Valhalla. Which required breaking into the home of the gods themselves. Hah. What a grand idea. As if getting himself killed wasn't exciting enough.

"I changed my mind," he said quickly, turning away from the door. Already he was pretty sure he had been splattered by more than a few drops of hot red blood. "I don't want to steal anything."

"What?" The Valkyire sounded disappointed. Sad, even. Like he had insulted her to her very core. Like she actually wanted to give him a cup. Then again, how exciting was this Great Hall for Valkyries? Same things day in and day out. Some dorky dead kid wanting to take something precious from the hall was certainly a novelty.

But any guilt or pity Hiccup felt for the Valkyrie's shallow needs was pushed away by the sight of what lay outside the hall in the battlefield. The battlefield of all battlefields. Countless dead warriors and heroes with the most vicious blades and weapons to ever grace a swordmaker's mind. An endless field of death and brutality and blood and killing. Hiccup had never been particularly violent even when he wanted to be. When it came right down to it, he was terrified of being in battle with anyone. Weapons were sharp and scary! He knew that, he had worked with them! The one practically screaming to collapse into the floor, however, was the worst he had ever seen.

"I don't want to steal anything," he repeated, taking another step back. The door needed to be closed. For all the gods in this place, this door needed to be closed. He could hear Disa behind him, muttering swear words to herself in a greater panic than he heard when she was near water.

The Valkyrie laughed lightly and tossed back her hair. "Silly boy, who said anything about stealing? All you told me is that you wanted a cup, and I'm perfectly willing to give you one if you earn it."

He didn't want to earn a golden cup. Not this way. He didn't care if it were gold or who made it. "Can't I earn it another way? That is, if you really want to give it to me. You don't have to. Really."

She laughed again, then placed a hand on his shoulder. His entire body tingled at her touch, like being struck by the most pleasant fear he had ever sensed. "You're too late, hero boy. You're here. Valhalla is a place for heroes. You dare sneak into Odin's hall, you had better be ready to act like you're worthy of it."

Hiccup did not like the look in her eyes. He tried to push the sword back into her arms. Or maybe he should just go put it back on the wall. That would be nice. Very nice. No harm down, the hall left just like it had been left, and he could leave.

"I'm not meant for Valhalla," he assured her. Yes, that was it. Tell her the story. Tell the crazy Valkyrie everything. Let her know that his death had not been a glorified even on the battlefield but a stupid accident for which he now had to pay. "I… I fell off my dragon."

"Dragon." The Valkyrie toyed with the word on her tongue, eyes shining. "Really? You are even more interesting than I had thought. So few people bother to deal with dragons. How exciting!"

Good. She liked dragons. At least she was no longer trying to force him out the door. He could continue on like this, talking about… Toothless. Wow. The sword suddenly felt all the heavier in his hand.

Toothless. He was here right now because of Toothless. In the midst of everything else he had been feeling Toothless had so much become the last thing on his mind. No, that wasn't quite true. It couldn't be quite true. Toothless had waited by his body. Toothless had found his body for everyone else. It was Toothless who was confused, probably didn't understand what had happened, who was lonely, had lost his best friend.

The Valkyrie's hand moved down from his shoulder to the gold threat at his wrist. "Well, boy, I see something in your eyes here. This dragon. It wasn't just any dragon, was it?"

"What do you mean, any dragon?" The words were out faster and sharper than he had intended, and he didn't feel the least bit bad about it. "Have you ever flown a dragon?" Probably a dumb question. He had no idea what Valkyries had done. Flying dragonback was probably commonplace to them.

"No," she replied cheerfully. "I'd like to. I'm sure it's thrilling. But we're not talking about me. This dragon was… yours, right?"

Hiccup nodded.

Her smile broadened. Soon it seemed as if the sunlight behind her was nothing compared to her face. "More than a beast, more than a pet. A friend, dare I say? Don't look so shocked, I can see it in your eyes."

Hiccup tried to lower his gaze, but she grabbed his chin and lifted it. She was staring into his eyes now, nothing so terrifying as to stare into his soul, but simply watching his eyes as if there were nothing else to him.

"You're right," she finally said as she dropped his chin. "Valhalla material you are certainly not. No warrior acceptable to this hall would have been stupid enough to fall off a dragon he card about. Not that I blame you. Accidents happen, but unfortunately that's not my problem. Which is why neither me or any of my sisters came for you when you died. You just did not meet our standards here, I'm sorry to say."

"Okay. Whatever." He rubbed his chin. Wow, but she had a grip. "Can I go then?"

"No."

"No?" he echoed. It didn't make sense. He shouldn't be here, she even admitted it, and she still had no intention of letting him leave. He glanced back at Disa, who was shrugged at him with terror and confusion. Some help she was after all this time. "Look, lady, I can give you the sword, I can turn around, no one needs to know I was here. I don't feel bad I didn't make Valhalla, really. Do you really need to punish me?"

She laughed again. "Punish you? Why on earth would I punish you? Just because you didn't make Valhalla standards doesn't mean you're completely useless, you know. I stand by what I said before. You sneak in here, you had better be ready to prove yourself."

Hiccup was not quite sure what happened right after that. He must have lost control of his senses, because for the most crucial and vital of seconds he had no power. Maybe it was because he was dead. Maybe it was because he was dealing with a Valkyrie. Maybe it was because she had been saying all these things that had him thinking about too many things. But whatever happened, he felt a great shove on his shoulder, the ground moving beneath his feet as he scrambled to manage his steps, and then finally the strong heat of the sun and the slam of a door behind him.

He stood in blood. He wanted to scream. He stood blood while warriors around him made more of it and the only close building that would be safe was now closed to him. In his arms was a sword about the size of his own body and not exactly the right weight for his build.

And now these seasoned great warriors of Valhalla were noticing him. Scarred, exuberant faces turned to him, eyes shining with bloodlust, the clang of metal against metal softening and slowing just a bit.

They were going to kill him, Hiccup realized. He was already dead, but these men were going to kill him. How did that work? Did it work? If there was all this blood around that meant the blood had to come from somewhere and where lots of blood was surely death was as well…

Yup. It was there. Bodies. Bodies of the already dead dead again. Impossible, but here it was.

"Disa!" he screamed, feeling like the most pathetic of children as he whirled back on the building. Solid, perfect wood. No getting through it.

"A boy," someone muttered. "A shrimpy little boy."

"Impressive he's here," said another. "Let's see what earned him Valhalla."

Hiccup turned around again, attempting to lift the sword as high as it would go. Would prayer work here? He couldn't fight, not with this giant sword and these men around him who sort of had earned their ways here and the way he couldn't trust his foot beneath him. He had never been good at fighting.

He squeezed his eyes shut and swung the sword. It pulled him with it, and the bloody mud squelched underneath him as he slipped through it. Would the sword make contact? He had no idea and he didn't care. He just didn't want to die. Again.

It did indeed hit something, but not very hard. He was smart enough to realize that. He slipped all the way into the bloody mud, even getting some of the bitter, iron-tasting stuff into his mouth. Yuck. He tried to spit it out, but already a great fist was pulling him back to his feet.

"You're terrible," spat a man with one eye. "Absolutely terrible."

Hiccup's sword fell from his grasp. "I know." Dry humor. Would it work here? Probably not, but then again what would?

To his surprise the man laughed, and several other men in the vicinity paused their killing long enough to laugh as well. Okay, so maybe the field wasn't that bad if these warriors could still appreciate a little humor.

The one-eyed man tossed him back to the ground. "Get up, rugrat. Fight like a man."

Hiccup picked up his sword. He didn't want to be here. But… at least this man wasn't impaling him on the spot. And looking around this man didn't seem to be anywhere near the biggest or fiercest. Maybe this was a blessing in disguise. The sword was slippery with blood and mud and Hiccup could barely lift it.

The man seemed to enjoy watching. "Pathetic," he said finally. "Watch this." He lifted his own sword, a great curved blade covered in blood and rust, and whipped it around.

Two warriors, one whose arm had just been cut off by the other who was squirting blood from his ear, immediately lost their heads.

Hiccup choked back a scream as the heads rolled to the ground, eyes still burning with battle.

The man noticed his face and laughed deeply. "So obvious you are near here. They are fine. No pain other than what is glorified. They're already dead, anyway. And come sunset they'll just put themselves back together. No harm done."

"But…" Hiccup could hardly get the words out. "But why?"

"Because it's fun." The man turned his sword on three more people with equally bloody and violent results. "Because Ragnorak will eventually come and we would like to be warmed up for it. Because a man who lives for battles and dies for battle deserves battle. Take your pick."

"Um…" Hiccup ducked as another warrior swung an axe over his head. Hiccup was certain he lost a few hairs.

"So you're here," the one-eyed man continued. "You're here, taking in this beautiful battlefield of Odin's. The one that never ends, that never dries of its blood. Show me your bravery, boy."

But he wasn't that brave. Not when it came to this. He had no idea what he was doing here. He had no idea how to fight.

The man seemed to read his mind, and a smile spread over his scarred, ruined face. "No talent for the sword, huh? You seemed like the type with the ability. Well, boy, it's not always about skill, is it?"

Wasn't it? Hiccup stared at his sword. He had no idea how to use it.

"It's about passion," the man continued. "Listen to everything around you. Do you hear boredom? No, you here glory. Passion. Love. Put that into your sword arm, and you'll be just fine."

"But—"

The man laughed again and pushed Hiccup forward into the heat of a particularly vicious fight. It was like entering a thunderstorm, right where the lighting and thunder were. All around Hiccup was the metal. He smelled it along with blood and sweat and dirt. Blades whizzed at him, tickling his skin.

He was already dead, he was already dead, he was already dead. If he died here he would be fine at sunset.

But nothing was cutting him. He wasn't bleeding.

Slowly his hands tightened around the sword. He was here. In Valhalla. The place he had heard of all his life. Wouldn't his dad love to hear about this? Wouldn't everyone love to hear about this? Hiccup the hero, here in Valhalla, resting place of heroes. Except this wasn't really his idea of resting.

But his father would love it anyway. Maybe it would give him comfort, knowing that his dead child was here in the place every Viking was supposed to want to go. It might even make him proud.

Even if it didn't change the fact that Hiccup was dead.

His entire death flashed before his eyes. The thrill of the winter flight. The feeling of the air. That sudden loss of power and control where he was falling. The crash. That horrible horrible pain that had made him wish he were dead and had probably lead to it. The thought of Toothless, his faithful dragon who had done nothing wrong. The memory of his friends, Astrid, his father, everything they saw and everything they had to be feeling.

It was strangely energizing.

This place wasn't about fighting. It was about life and death. Kill or be killed and kill for everything that mattered to you.

The one-eyed man watched him, grinning madly.

Hiccup didn't know what came over him, but he rushed from the brawl he had been thrown into, sword suddenly much lighter. He could balance it.

The man lifted his own sword to meet Hiccup's, and for a wonderful and thrilling moment Hiccup could only feel how amazing fighting could be. No wonder so many people loved it. It was… exciting.

The man moved his sword to strike, and Hiccup blocked it. The Valkyrie had selected a good sword. Hiccup yanked the sword down the other blade and pierced it into the one-eyed man's belly.

The blood came quickly.

Horrified, Hiccup dropped the sword, but it was too late. The blood spilled from the man's belly, and he, still grinning, sank to his knees. His eye was shining.

"Excellent job, Hiccup," he said before his eye closed.

"I'm so sorry," Hiccup whispered. It was as if there were no giant battle behind him. There was nothing but him and this twice-dead man.

Hiccup had never killed anyone before. He wasn't sure what to feel. Good? He was in a place where he was supposed to. And the man had looked happy. The man had thanked him. The man had inserted a surprising piece of pride into Hiccup for what he had just done.

The man had known his name.

The door reappeared on the side of Valhalla, and the Valkyrie and Disa appeared. Disa looked out into the battle with more disgust than fear.

Then she quickly strode forward and picked up Hiccup's sword. "Good job, soul boy," she muttered before slashing the blade into the arm of a nearby warrior.

"Take that, scum!" she shrieked.

The warrior clutched his arm and turned to stare at her. "Disa?"

"Valhalla," she said with even more disgust. "Great job. You die in battle and I stay on Berk. Fabulous, honey."

Her husband, Hiccup realized. The poor man looked as if he'd rather take on the entire horde of Valhalla than Disa.

The Valkyrie smiled at him. In her hand was a cup. A beautiful golden cup.

Not wanting to think about the battlefield anymore, Hiccup walked back inside and took the cup. It seemed even heavier than the sword.

"You earned it," she said with a smile. But then she sighed. "I guess."

"You guess?" His head and heart were still spinning.

"Yeah. Odin. You would kill him. Of course he would go easy on you."

Hiccup nearly dropped the cup. He had killed Odin. What was the punishment for that?


	21. Odin

_Sorry for the delay. One of the authors sort of got married. But now we're both back!_

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Leaving seemed to be the pretty obvious choice. Hiccup had his cup with which to do whatever he would wind up doing with it and all he really needed to do was give a friendly wave and farewell and be on his way.

But things didn't go that way. The next thing he knew he was in a chair at one of the impossibly long tables while dead warriors surrounded him swearing, laughing, eating, and drinking.

Valhalla was pure chaos.

A friendly farewell was far from acceptable. Not after what Hiccup had done. He had taken out Odin himself. Got him with the sword. Right there on the battlefield. Everyone had seen it, or had at least claimed to. Whatever the Valkyrie had said about Odin going easy on Hiccup had been missed by the rest of the hoard of warriors. Far from being allowed to leave the hall, Hiccup seemed to be the guest of the night, pounded on the back and cheered to no end. It was a good hour before conversation from the subject of him.

Even then, Odin, healed and alive save for that missing eye, spent the night gazing at Hiccup with a knowing smile.

Having gods stare at him was really awkward. Hiccup kept wondering if he would suddenly find himself in a ball of flames.

The cup rested on his lap. No one had said anything about it. Was that what Odin noticed? Hiccup had the feeling that single eye could stare through anything. What would happen when Hiccup left? Would Odin cry out, and would a million angry warriors beat the bulp out of Hiccup's soul to retrieve the cup? That was so the last thing he needed.

He tried to push it out of his mind and enjoy the madness of a Valhalla meal. There was more food and drink than he had ever comprehended before in his life. Another discovery of death, he supposed. He hadn't eaten since his death. Food was strange. Did the dead need to eat it? Yet he seemed as solid as the food around him, and the taste of it seemed real. Better than anything he had ever had, in fact. But he was far from eating it with the gusto every other warrior possessed.

At least things seemed to calm. The rowdy conversations split into separate groups, and many warriors collapsed on the table, snoring loudly. If Hiccup squinted enough, he could spot the entrance where he and Disa had entered hours before.

Where was Disa? He hadn't seen her since she had spotted her husband. Well, he would just have to meet up with her later. Hiccup stood up from the benches and surveyed the Hall. So this was the final resting place of warriors until Ragnorak. He had to admit, other gods had been right. The place really did not appeal to him. This was the place Snotlout would end up when he died, and quiet happily, too. Hiccup clenched the cup in his fist and made his way to the door. There were enough warriors still making a scene that he could get through distracted. Hopefully.

He was almost to the door when a voice stopped him.

"Hiccup." It wasn't particular loud, but somehow managed to fill the entire Hall, an impressive feat judging by the size of the place.

Hiccup's hand froze at the door, and he felt the same way he felt when his father caught him doing something he shouldn't. He bit his lip and turned. "Your Lordship."

Odin, in this form, was the tallest man Hiccup had ever seen and it occurred to Hiccup that if Odin so chose he could fill the Hall with his own body. He wore the garb of a warrior, but finer than anything a warrior would wear. Hair the color of fire swept over his empty eye socket. He did not reply, but looked down at Hiccup with a completely unreadable face.

Oh, gods that were present. Hiccup gulped. "Sir, if I can, I need to be on my way." The cup was in plain sight. Like an idiot Hiccup shoved it behind his back.

Odin gave a faint nod. "I see. And where do you need to go?"

"I…" Did he need to bring up the fact that he didn't belong here? That he had pretty much just wandered into Valhalla on his own without a single Valkyrie in attendance? Well, if Odin was worth his salt as a god he would already know that. Why not just admit it? "I didn't die a warrior's death. I don't belong here."

Odin threw back his massive head and laughed. He laughed long and hard until the Hall rang with it. It still not enough to wake up a single snoring warrior.

Hiccup just felt awkward.

At last Odin ended his personal joke with a wiping away of a tear. "That's for sure. You're the least likely candidate I've ever heard of. Trust me, if my Valkyries had seen you dead in a battlefield, they probably would have assumed you had been dead long before the battle had started. Probably had tripped over a rock or something or chocked on a bug. No, you are definitely not Valhalla material. Going easy on you back there was hard, if you can appreciate that. I couldn't use a fraction of my power."

So Hiccup killing Odin had been the joke of the Hall, apparently. Hiccup chewed again on his lip. "So, anyway, thanks for not killing me again, but yeah, that's really why I should leave."

"I understand," Odin said, running his fingers through his beard. "Pansies by nature can't withstand much of Valhalla."

Hiccup's jaw dropped. Had he just been insulted by a god?

"Not that you're a pansy, Hiccup. Just in battle. I know that you were a blacksmith. That's Thor's area. Yet I'm impressed you would come this far to steal from me."

Hiccup sheepishly brought forth the cup. "Yeah, about that. I guess you want this back."

"Nah, keep it," Odin said with a wave of his hand. "The cups are pretty much useless here. Always getting broken. I'll have to commission another set soon anyway, and hey, you did kill the Great Odin."

"Oh." Hiccup stared at the cup, trying to comprehend how something of such beauty would be meaningless. "Thanks. I mean, thank-you. Thank-you so much."

"What do you need it for? A scrawny dead boy like you?"

It sounded so stupid. "Well, Hel asked me to steal something from you."

"Why did she ask that?"

"I'm…" Hiccup sighed. "I don't have all my souls together yet. She said she would accept me into Hel anyway. If I brought her something back. But then I changed my mind. I don't want to spend eternity there. I just stole it, I guess, to steal it. I figured, why not?"

"Mm." Odin crossed his great arms over his chest. "So now it's a souveneir. "

"I guess so," Hiccup relied as he examined the cup. Fat lot of good it was going to do. He was still dead, he still had no place to go… His fingers brushed over the carvings of the cup as an idea came to him. Not a request, he couldn't be so bold. A question. Nothing more. He could ask a question of Odin. Couldn't he? "Your Lordship, can I ask you a question?"

Odin's smile returned. "I know all things."

Hiccup held up his right wrist where the gold thread of the Norns was tied. "My life thread has been cut." What was he asking? Was he seriously asking what he was asking? "Can… can it be fixed?"

As soon as the question was out he knew it was a stupid question. But even then it burned in the air around him, exciting and full of promise. He wasn't supposed to die. It had been an accident, nothing more. He was still a boy, had done nothing in his life worth attention. All those years he wasn't going to get… maybe he could still have them. Maybe they could still be his. He stared up at Odin, fearing once again the burst of flames but suddenly having to know.

"The Norns," Odin said slowly, "Are women unknown to the gods. The "all things" I know do not include them. The fates they weave are their business."

"But you're Odin. You could say something to them. Make them—"

"The Norns hold my life thread as well. I can't make them do anything. You'll find that there are few things you can make anyone do. Loki, for example, would like nothing more than to get to this Hall. Am I correct in assuming he's become involved?"

Hiccup nodded.

"Loki is a good friend to me. But he can't make me allow him in my Hall, not like I allowed you. It was my choice, and my choice alone. You had a choice. You are choosing not to give this cup to Hel. But life and death are not choices you get to make, Hiccup. Not in this situation."

Hiccup nodded again. Of course. He knew that. He knew it even as he was asking dumb questions. It still wasn't fair. "I understand."

"So what are you going to do with that cup?"

The question was so out of context that Hiccup nearly dropped the cup. "I… I mostly just wanted to see if I could get it. I didn't expect it to be handed to me."

Odin laughed. "You can't fool the god Odin."

Hiccup smiled weakly. "I know that now."

"Do you want my advice?"

The advice of a god? Did he dare refuse it? Hiccup nodded a third time.

"Go home. Back to your village. Wait like everyone else. You'll meet your fate soon enough. Besides, it might be good for you."

Seeing Berk again. A Berk he wouldn't participate in. Friends he couldn't talk with, a dragon he couldn't ride. He resisted rolling his eyes. Yeah, home was the last place he wanted to be. But he couldn't say that to Odin. "Thank-you," he said.

But when he pushed the doors open, he was not in the line of trees.

A village spread out beneath him covered in snow.

He was back in Berk.


	22. Toothless

Oh, gods, indeed. Hiccup felt a stab that might have been death all over again as he stared down at Berk. So he was back to the place of his life and death, just like that, just because some god had thought it a good idea. Well, maybe it was. He could very well just be overreacting to all of this. He was dead, everyone knew he was dead, he just needed to face facts.

But he was unable to shake away the thought of what he had seen here. What was he supposed to do here? Sit around and wait for… what? All he had heard was wait until the body was fully destroyed. Well, Disa had waited for centuries and her body still had flesh left to rot.

Perhaps they would go quicker. Perhaps they would put him on a pyre and burn him and he could finally end this mess.

Or maybe… he pulled at the gold thread at his wrist. It was surprisingly strong for thread that looked so weak. An idea occurred to him. What would the cup mean to the Norns? It was gold, it was precious. Could a little gift really please them? It was worth a shot. Except he had no idea how to find them again. He wished Od were there. Od had probably run into them before.

The fantasy was thrilling. Returning correctly to his body, being alive again, maybe even pretending this whole disaster hadn't happened. Maybe they had misread his death signs. He would have easily been in a deep stage of hypothermia and frostbite, nothing a little time and warmth wouldn't set right.

But that probably wasn't going to happen.

Which led to the question of "now what?" He was here, he had no idea where Od or Disa were, and if something was to happen when his body was properly destroyed it had not happened yet as far as he was aware. He plopped down into the snow with a mix of feelings ranging from self-pity and pure annoyance. Stuck like this? For centuries? He really hoped they would just burn him and get it over with, and that was a thought he didn't think he would ever be having. The ghosts down at the water's edge came to mind. Would he become of of those? Lost? Crazy? Was there a worse fate?

He turned the cup over and over again in his hands. He should feel pride. He had been to Valhalla, he had managed to get his hands on a cup. Maybe not through the most glorious way, but he was Hiccup and not exactly meant for glory. This was good enough. Who else could say they had walked into Valhalla uninvited?

But that adventure was over and there wasn't anything else. Just a long stretch of death.

A Hero, the Norns had called him. Wasn't that just fine and dandy? He died at a ridiculously young age, all apparent heroics said and done. What a joke. He as supposed to be grateful? He was supposed to feel good about that? He stood up and the threw the cup into a graceful arc before it landed silently in the snow. Then he turned to the woods.

It was the middle of the day, but even the bare-limbed trees seemed to darken the woods, and there were enough pines to keep that darkness realistic. He marched through, complaining about things he knew he had no right to complain about.

A sound ahead stopped him.

Then he thought how stupid it was to stop. He was dead. Any wild animal couldn't do a thing to him. But he was stopped and the instinct of terror was not leaving him alone.

"Come on, Hiccup," he muttered softly to himself. "It's not a big deal."

The sound came again, the crash of a large creature through the trees. All through growing up bad sounds meant the possibility of dragons. If you heard something in the woods, you ran.

Nothing wrong with dragons. In fact…

His thoughts trailed away as a shadow flashed in the distance between two bare trees. A shadow long and snake-like. A tail, dark and smooth-scaled.

"Toothless?" Hiccup asked aloud.

There was no response beyond the rest of the normal sounds that accompanied a dragon too big for trees. Toothless did not hear Hiccup. How could he? Toothless had never heard, and Hiccup had never expect him to despite the wonder of such an idea. His entire being shaking, Hiccup continued forward.

The dragon was clumsy. Toothless, who was always so powerful in the air, was little more than an awkward cat caught in a cage. Toothless was smart enough to avoid the close trees for the most part, but his large body did not make it easy. Whatever grace the dragon possessed was focused on the use of the many twists and turns. Toothless required air and sky, and Hiccup could not help but laugh.

"Not in a clearing, are you, bud?" he whispered.

Toothless was so close that little effort on Hiccup's part would put him in touching proximity, and Hiccup moved closer. Toothless paused in a wider space and yawned. No Hiccup meant no flying, and no flying meant boredom for Toothless. Toothless was not good at being bored. He stretched his wings till they knocked against dead branches and shook down a few remaining leaves. The spread of wings was lower to the ground, and without even thinking Hiccup reached up and brushed his fingers against the wing.

Toothless made no sign he felt a thing, and Hiccup drew back his hand. "Figures."

Was Toothless happy? Of how much was Toothless aware? Did he understand Hiccup was dead, that he wasn't coming back? He clearly wasn't getting that Hiccup's spirit was standing right next to him. So much for being an insightful dragon. Who was taking care of Toothless? Hiccup could think of a number of people who would jump at the opportunity, but it was a number without names and a number didn't mean anyone would. Someone would have to learn how to fly Toothless.

Hiccup should have made these plans before he got himself killed.

With a sigh he sat down into the snow, nearly missing a knock in the head that wouldn't have meant a thing as Toothless folded back in his wings. Well, if this wasn't familiar. Sitting around with a dragon, confused, not having a thing to say or even a way to say it. Toothless might as well have not been there, and the same went for Hiccup. Yet at the same time, it was nice. Hiccup could pretend Toothless was aware of him. He could pretend that until his body was gone and he was out of here.

It was going to be exceedingly boring. How had Disa put up with it for so long? What had she done?

Maybe that was the trick. Do. Something. There was an entire island he had never fully explored and the mortality risk was officially gone. Surprisingly, that made him feel better.

Toothless snorted and shook his head, and with a bound that shook up snow he darted forward into the next maze of trees.

"Whoa, come back!" Hiccup shouted as he leapt up and followed.

The rest had done Toothless good. He navigated the space with a little more agility, and it was all Hiccup could do to keep up. All too soon they were back on the hillside.

A man stood nearby.

Hiccup stopped. The man was looking right at him.

Loki.

With a satisfied smile, Loki reached down and picked up the cup from the snow. "Beautiful workmanship, isn't it?" he said, rolling it between his hands like clay. "My daughter will be very amused. She has always wanted something of Valhalla to decorate her own realm."

Hiccup shrugged. Toothless was a tiny black spot now, still bounding toward the village. Hiccup wished he could follow. "Hel can have it."

"Wonderful!" In one quick flash he drove the cup into his cloak, where it vanished. "She will be most pleased. And of course she would never go back on her bargain. That's why I came here. Od said you might be here. Hel is ready for you."

The bargain… free pass to Hel, no full death required. So easy. Be gone, be done.

He almost nodded.

Except he didn't want that. He had decided long ago he didn't want it. People with golden life threads didn't go to Hel. "I changed my mind. She can have the cup. For free."

Loki's smile wavered. "What are you talking about?"

"I'll wait. They might burn my body. I'll be gone soon anyway. And maybe I will wind up in Hel anyway. It'll all be even." At least he would have more time. Suddenly that was all he wanted. More time. No matter how much or little it was.

Loki gave a forced laugh and crossed the snow toward Hiccup. He left no footprints. "And maybe you won't wind up in Hel." Before Hiccup could move Loki had his hand and was staring at the gold thread. "Hero. A shining jewel in the halls of Hel. You would be the most famous person there. For what? Slaying a giant dragon? Pitiful. But it's more than most can say in that realm. Can't have a hero in Folksvangr. You might be taken there. Apparently Valhalla is out of the question, but Thor loves your type. No, we can't take any chances on "maybe". It will be now."

Hiccup tore his hand away. "No!" But he didn't feel so tough. He was that weak? Only Hel was good enough? Even though it wasn't that bad?

"No?" Loki echoed. Then he laughed. A deep, full laugh. "Doesn't matter. I'm right here. And I can… make things difficult."

Hiccup stared.

Loki stretched an arm before him, then twisted his fingers to point back towards Berk. "I'm a trickster. I can… trick… your living loved ones."

The names of everyone flashed through Hiccup's mind. "What are you doing?"

"What's done is done," Loki replied with another laugh. "And even better. They're gathering wood. I imagine it's for your pyre, Hiccup."


	23. Searching

Flames, so tiny at the distant shore they might as well have been those of candles, licked the noon sky. The daylight should have smothered their brightness, but instead they seemed to absorb every spark of light from island center to ocean. They burned steadily and faithfully, willing to burn whatever was placed inside of them, be it kindling or body. Small figures moved about the fire's current place on the shore, bringing more and more wood until they might as well have leveled the entire forest.

Hiccup watched the event from atop the hill. It was nearly as fascinating as observing his own death, this watching of his own funeral preparations. Morbid, to say the least, but if it were his body that was going to be burning to ash in that pile of wood he figured he had a right to take note of what went into it. He had built enough fires for the forge, and he recognized every subtle movement that went into making the fire as hot as possible. Yes, it was going to be a good fire, nothing no amount of snow or wind could put out.

Behind him came a deep laugh, and Hiccup's heart sank further. Loki. He had forgotten entirely about Loki. Even a god was hard to keep attention to when one's body was about to go up in smoke. Hiccup breathed in deeply, wishing once more it would do some good, but did not turn around.

It didn't matter. This was it. By midnight it would all be over, all this wandering, all this attachment to the world, to Berk, and he would be gone. To where? Obviously Hel. Hel would have her cup and her hero. She would have had him anyway with this time frame. The cup had meant nothing, just a distraction, a game for her. An extra soul she would have had anyways plus a prize of Odin's. Who did not even care. Were these the games the gods played? Was this the sort of thing with which they occupied themselves? He silently cursed himself out. It was his own fault. He should have kept the cup. Used it for bargaining. Maybe the Norns wanted it. Maybe that would have been the price for life.

Loki laughed again. "Are you ready, Hiccup? Hel isn't such a bad place. It's good enough for the common Viking. Many find happiness there."

Hel. Oh, who cared? It was just a place to wind up, just like all the others. So much for his gold thread and status as hero. It wasn't good enough for Valhalla or Folksvangr, apparently. His mother had said nothing in Helgasfjell. He let out the breath he had held. Breath from the dead did nothing, meant nothing.

"If you wish, I could pull some strings. Maybe I'll return the cup to my pal Odin and get you into his silly hall of drunks and buffoons."

Odin had said no. "You said I was going to Hel."

Another laugh. The god seemed to think he had a sense of humor. "I did say that. Though I would love to earn further favors of the great Odin."

Hiccup tore his eyes away from the pyre and faced Loki. The god did not look malicious at all, just pleasantly satisfied. Victorious, yet showing no signs of bragging. It wasn't much worse than he had seen from any other Viking. "I'll be gone by nightfall," Hiccup said. "If I don't wind up in Hel, what will you then?" He hoped he sounded braver than he felt, then decided he felt considerably. It was surprisingly easy to be brave when one's ultimate demise was right around the corner.

He had hoped to wipe the grin from Loki's face, but it remained solid. "In your distraction, Hiccup, you forgot what I said. What's done is done."

The air seemed to grow visibly darker. "I don't understand. You're not making any sense."

Loki turned to walk away. "You'll find out. In fact, I advise you find out soon. Very soon. Before it's too late."

Loki was right. In the horror at the sight of the pyre Hiccup had forgotten Loki's words. "Loved ones," he murmured. The words were terrifying.

"That's right. I think before nightfall you are going to come willingly." Loki did not slow his pace. "When you're ready to make a deal, just call my name."

Whoa. Deals. Death and deals and leaving this place. Hiccup put his hand to his head. He was dead, he shouldn't feel this dizzy. Loved ones. Who would…?

Toothless.

With a cry Hiccup ran into the woods as fast as he could, not even bothering to dodge the trees but forcing his body through them. He knew Toothless couldn't him, but that did not stop him from yelling out his name. Maybe he felt better hearing himself doing something.

But Toothless was found soon enough, in a larger gap between the trees near the stream, breaking through the icy water for fish. Hiccup stopped nearby, weak and dizzy. Toothless was fine. His best friend dragon, completely fine.

What's done is done. Great. He had distracted himself with Toothless when something else was going on to someone else. He whirled back around.

Berk did not seem to exist outside the pyre. If anyone was in trouble, it was not in view. Hiccup slowed down as he entered the village. He had never felt more out of place in the village, never more ignored. An entire day devoted to him and the irony was that no one could see him. Every face he saw was pale and grim. Did that many people actually care that he was dead? He tried to remember the last funeral of the village. Yes, it didn't matter who it was. One's worst enemy could be thrown to the pyre and the same grim mood would infiltrate everyone. It was how a village worked. It wasn't flattery, it was reality; and Hiccup even felt the same sorrow.

This was going to be it.

But he couldn't think about that. If Loki were right (did he dare trust Loki? Could this not be a trick in itself? A god of mischief would so do that) someone was in trouble. Hiccup glanced over each face, trying to find a sign of something beyond build-Hiccup's-funeral-pyre. A sign of worry, of someone missing, something else wrong beyond the obvious.

The first ones he noticed were the twins. For once, they were not fighting. Ruffnut was wrapped in furs and sitting against a house, staring into nothingness. Tuffnut stood nearby, audibly whining about how boring and depressing the day was until his sister threw a rock at him. None of his other friends seemed to be in danger. Fishlegs and Snotlout were gathering wood like everyone else. Gobber stood near the pyre, less jovial than usual. Gods, Hiccup missed everyone. He wanted to be with his friends, he wanted to be helping Gobber again. He couldn't think about that.

Because his father was nowhere in sight.

"Dad," he said to himself. Oh, how Loki would love to after a chief. Why hadn't Hiccup thought of that first? In a panic he raced to his home and forced himself through the wall, expecting… what was he expecting? The worst? And what was the worst of which Loki was capable? He collapsed to the floor of his home, the familiar and dusty planks of wood, lit with the flow of the fire. He rose to his feet and stared about the room?

His dad sat in a chair, staring silently at the fire, hands clenched together in his lap. He seemed okay to Hiccup. Though who was he kidding? Hiccup had never seen his father look more miserable. He glanced at the table, where a clean blanket, a brand new blanket, covered his body. Then he turned back to his father. "Dad," he heard himself repeat.

Of course Stoick did nothing. He didn't move, he barely breathed, failed to change his gaze into the fire.

Hiccup felt his heart split and he stepped closer. "Dad, I'm so sorry. I was… it was an accident, a total accident."

Stoick sighed.

He hated seeing his father like this. It was so unnatural, so not the man he had known his entire life. His father was brave and strong and powerful and did not act this way, not in any of Hiccup's memories. Then the moment Hiccup did something stupid and got himself killed, this happened. His father had become someone else entirely. Hiccup was never going to see his father again the way he used to be. He swallowed against the lump in his throat. He was going to miss his dad so much. He did not realize until that very moment just how much he was going to miss him. It wasn't fair. Hiccup wasn't even fully grown into a man yet. Obviously he still needed his dad. And just what was his father going to do without a son? His father was nothing with no one to boss around. Hiccup and Stoick had never exactly hugged, but if possible Hiccup wished he could do it right then. "Dad," he said again.

A long time passed before Stoick did anything. He sighed again, shook his head, and said "I miss you so much, Hiccup."

Hiccup nodded. "I miss you, too, Dad." A conversation neither of them heard. Great.

"Everything was going so well," Stoick continued. "Everything was fine. I was so proud of you. I still am. And I always was. I love you so much."

Hiccup swallowed another lump. "I love you too, Dad."

Stoick's face darkened further, and his voice fell once again into silence.

Before the pyre, Hiccup promised himself. Before anything happened, any frozen bodies were burned, Hiccup would return and see his father again.

What's done is done. He closed his eyes.

Astrid.

He hadn't seen her anywhere yet.

He quickly left the house. The entire village spread out before him. People everywhere. No sign of that familiar and beautiful blonde braid. No. No. No.

"Hiccup!"

The voice speaking his name still shocked him, especially after so many more reminders of his death. For a moment he assumed Loki, but the voice was different.

Od stood several feet away, grey cloak billowing around him, eyes wide with excitement. Just what did he have to be excited over?

"Od!" Hiccup exclaimed, running over. Od was a god. Od could do something, explain something. "It's Loki. He has… I think he has Astrid."

"Astrid?" Od echoed.

"I told you about her. My girlfriend." Why was he bothering explaining this? If Astrid was in danger, time was only making it worse. "Loki did something to her and I need to find out where she is and make sure she's okay though I don't know what it means if she is okay and…"

Od held up a hand, and a rare look of solemnity passed over his face. "Slow down, boy. I heard. Freya mentioned something of this. I believe. That's why I'm here."

For a moment all Hiccup could do was stare. Then, to his own eternal surprise, he laughed. "Freya? You left Freya again? And you're going to go back to her?"

Od smiled warmly. "I plan to. This time. But a pyre… I never manage to see as many of those among mortals as I would like. The destruction of a body is so…"

"Fascinating. I know." Time to focus on Astrid. "What did Freya say?"

Od pointed vaguely toward the inner part of the island. "Out there."

"In the woods?"

"The other side of the island, I believe."

The other side of- Hiccup groaned and screamed at the same time. "How did she get over there?" She wouldn't have gone by herself, at least Hiccup hoped she wouldn't. Not with the snow, not with the danger, not with the funeral coming up within hours… Had Loki dragged her out there? "Never mind. You saw her?"

"I only heard. My wife is aware of these things. Sh says…" He cleared his throat, obviously trying to think, "she says it's up to you to save her."

It was the worst thing Hiccup had ever heard. "Freya knows and does nothing?"

Od shrugged. "She's a goddess of love. This appeals to her."

"Can't you do anything?"

Od's mouth twisted slightly into a smile. "And what would you have me do? You said it was Loki. Do you think Loki would approve of my interference."

Hiccup sighed. Od was right. If anyone else did anything, it would only make things worse. "Can you take me to her?"

Barely where the words out of his mouth than Od waved his cloak. In a blink the cloak was gone, and Hiccup found himself on the island's opposite shore, staring out into the ocean. Od was nowhere in sight, and neither was Astrid. Not at first.

A small rock was about three quarters of a mile out to sea. It was flat on top, mossy, too small to really support any one person, and at this moment its craggier sides held Astrid. There was no one else it could possibly be. Hiccup's sharp vision could spot every detail of her face, the terror and confusion in her eyes.

She had no idea how she got out there. And as Hiccup watched, the water around her began to churn, regardless of the lack of wind.

In that moment Hiccup understood. Either Hiccup give in, or Astrid would drown.

Such an obvious choice. How could he have been so stupid? He wasn't going to wind up in Valhalla. Hel seemed the natural option. Why was he fighting it? Had he agreed in the first place this never would have happened. Astrid would be wherever she was supposed to be. Hiccup would be going with probably what would happen anyway. This was, in a sense, entirely his fault. All he had to do was open his mouth and say Loki's name…

The thread at his wrist burned. Not long, just like the quick scorch of a candle. It might have been his imagination, but it did jar his thoughts enough to create reason.

He couldn't trust Loki.

He looked around again for Od, desperate for help. Od would at least have ideas. But Od was nowhere. Ideas, ideas. He needed ideas. The water now was too mad for anyone to swim. Come to think of it, he wasn't sure Astrid could swim. No matter what, it wasn't safe.

Disa had drowned. Astrid could be next. Berk did not need any more dead people.

Maybe he could swim out there. Though who was he kidding? Even if he could manage it, what would he do then? Sit and wait with her? He couldn't touch her, he couldn't help her. Not without a useful body.

The thread burned again, enough to hurt. He suddenly wanted to rip it off and throw it into the ocean. The stupid Norns with all they had said of fate and his heroics and here he could do nothing. He was a spirit, and not even a complete one at that. He couldn't do a single thing. If they could just bring him back to life…

He let his arms fall to his sides. What an idea.

"Hold on, Astrid," he whispered. He trusted her. She could hold on awhile. She was strong. But she couldn't hold on forever, and if she swam for it… he didn't know what would happen.

He closed his eyes and focused on his house.

The house was empty when he got there. His father had left, probably to see to the pyre. It was just Hiccup, the fire, and Hiccup's blanket-covered body on the table.

Hiccup paused before his body, suddenly nervous. No reason for that. He had done this before. No big deal.

Though he hadn't done much with it.

It was easy to slip beneath the blanket. It was thin, not much to get in the way. He just lay down, let himself drift beneath the blanket.

It was also easy to snap open the eyes of a corpse.


	24. Rescue

Aside from opening his own eyes, moving the body was difficult. It had become stiffer than the last time Hiccup had ventured into it, even further from the fluid movement of life. His first reaction was a shudder that barely registered with his muscles, and he spent a few moments concentrating on every part of his stiff and useless body. It took that time just to get his fingertips to cooperate, and minutes had passed by the time he awkwardly flung the blanket to the floor.

Good thing no one had entered the house.

He sat up, wondering if he should attempt breathing; the act was in vain and just made awful sucking sounds in his chest. Then, with determination, he swung his body off the table.

And immediately crashed to the floor.

Luckily his hand did not break off or any such thing. Just wood and metal. It was weird not to feel pain, and he had to glance over himself just to be sure. The trouble was his false leg, only loosely reattached, no doubt with the notion that since he was dead he would not need secure movement options. Fantastic. The leg had rolled a few feet away, and it took the forcing of every part of his body to crawl after it and reattach it. All the while he kept half an eye on the door. All he needed was someone like his dad to walk in and see him like this. Horror and surprise and the disappointment that Hiccup was still very much dead. Assured of mobility, he slowly rose to his feet. Muscles did not want to cooperate. How had Disa managed? A couple centuries of getting used to it?

He paused at the doorway, the blanket wrapped around his shoulders. How much time did he have? No doubt the funeral would be at sunset. Would his father return before then? Probably. His dad could potentially be heading this way right now. Time was completely of the essence here. Get to Astrid, get his body back here. Doable. Maybe. If everything worked well. He forced the door open a crack and peered out. The coast was clear. He pulled the blanket over his head. It was perfect, large enough to cover all of him.

He headed outside.

The winter air seemed desperate to freeze his dead skin, and within seconds his eyes were drier than they had ever been. He wanted to blink, tear up, something, but his body was incapable of that. It was like being trapped inside a statue. He hobbled toward the woods as fast as his body would allow.

It didn't take too long to find what he was looking for. The woods must have become some sort of sanctuary to Toothless, though it did bother Hiccup that the dragon wasn't spending more time near his body. Not that he could blame the dragon. Maybe Toothless didn't understand death. Maybe he didn't understand that was what had happened to Hiccup. Maybe he plain did not recognize the body. Whatever the reason, the dragon took to the woods as a safe zone, too many trees to get in the way of difficult flight. Even so he hopped and hovered about, his large wings taking in what air they could. Hiccup stood and watched Toothless playing in the snow and bare trees, once again breath-taken by the dragon.

This was going to be it. Hiccup took hold of the edges of the makeshift hood and squeezed them in his hands. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a useless breath. "Toothless," he said as loud as he dared. His voice sounded ready cough up dust. Then he lowered the hood.

The dragon paused, curious eyes wide and confused.

Toothless really didn't understand. Hiccup bit his lip, then tried again, louder. "Toothless!"

Toothless took a few steps forward, and for a moment it was the first time Hiccup had ever dared approach the dragon. Complete terror that went beyond his present state as dead took over, leading sudden uncertainty. The snow crunched under Toothless' weight. It would not be unthinkable for Toothless to dart forward and start munching on him.

No. Impossible. Dragons were not carrion eaters and any decent dragon should be able to smell what was dead and what wasn't. Or so Hiccup hoped. Then he laughed at the idea. How stupid and silly was that? Toothless would never do such a thing.

With that thought Hiccup took a few forward steps of his own. His body still felt ungainly, but the corpse seemed a bit more flexible now. "Toothless," he said again, holding out his hand. "It's okay. It's me. I'm sorry I scared you. I'm sorry, bud. Just one of those things."

Toothless gave a guttural purr, then leapt forward.

"No!" Hiccup shouted as the dragon knocked him to the ground. His hands were hardly ready to be defending himself from Toothless' rough tongue. However, there wasn't much cause for concern; after a couple of licks Toothless sat back, tongue hanging out and a look of disgust in his eyes.

Hiccup laughed. "Sorry, bud. I guess dead body doesn't taste very good."

After a few moments of hacking, Toothless' thrill returned. He bounced around the trees, his weight managing to knock over a sapling and break off more than a few branches, his ears clearly oblivious to Hiccup's pleading. Well, what was wrong with the dragon's excitement? Even Hiccup was grinning. His best friend recognized him, totally recognized him, and was happy about it. Even better, Toothless was incapable of blathering the secret to anyone else.

But Hiccup was here for a reason. He didn't trust himself to swim out very far. He needed a dragon.

At last Toothless settled down long enough for Hiccup to clamber onto his back. Even touching Toothless was weird. Hiccup's hands felt cold and clammy, and seemed to prevent feeling of any heat from Toothless' body. Even being in this position, on this dragon, unnerved him. The last time he had rode this dragon had been the last thing he had ever done alive. It wasn't just that. His dead body did not seem to fit right in the saddle, and even slipping his prosthetic leg into the stirrup didn't seem right.

Oh well. It was going to be okay. Thank goodness no one had bothered to take this stuff off of Toothless. It would need to stay. Someone had to fly Toothless.

After this.

Toothless shot straight up into the air.

The rush of icy air against Hiccup's face was incredible, even as his skin didn't seem to take in all that it was worth. It didn't matter for it was enough. Being dead did not take away from the sheer thrill of this. Toothless glanced up at him, eyes shining with joy. Hiccup had no idea what Toothless was thinking, but it had to be something good.

Toothless deserved a good last flight.

Beneath them Berk stretched out, each detail blurring into a beautiful mass image of the island. No sign of people, no sign of the burning pyre at the shore, nothing but the most simple concept of the island surrounded by winter ocean. Not a single reminder that anything had ever gone wrong. Berk as it should be.

He should be enjoying this, Hiccup thought suddenly. This was it. By midnight everything would be over.

Though it didn't have to be.

The thought was sudden and strange. But why not? Disa had gotten by for centuries. She could move as she wanted, enjoy an afterlife. Sure, she was rotting and disgusting, but she still had a body. Hiccup's was in pretty good shape, all things considered. He could hide out in the woods, just him and Toothless. Maybe he could carry on an existence even in the village! Sure, it would be a little weird and frightening at first, but he would still be the same old Hiccup, just dead. He had heard a story where a draugr had returned to his family's home and had never left.

And then what? Stay the same? Walk around rotting while everyone else aged and eventually died as well?

There were no other options, Hiccup realized. He wasn't returning to life. Death was… it.

One more act of heroics, and death would be it. After that… who knew?

"Lower," he whispered to Toothless.

The far side of the island swept closer as they descended. Hiccup's gaze quickly fell on the rock out from shore. Waves, stuck in their own little patch of storm action, leapt about, higher than the rock. For a moment he panicked, but then he saw Astrid, clinging to the rock.

She no longer looked scared, at least not completely. His heart, whatever it was still good for, nearly twisted. She was so brave. When had she ever been anything less than brave?

Toothless' wings beat the air, and Astrid's head turned up.

Almost too late, Hiccup swung the hood back over his head.

Astrid's jaw dropped, and her grip nearly slipped from the rock.

Had she recognized him? That would be bad, very bad. But he was too high up for her to see anything for sure, and he was certain he had covered his face in the nick of time. Her face didn't read the horror that should come with seeing her dead boyfriend, just… shock. At what? Seeing a stranger flying her dead boyfriend's dragon?

At last, she spoke. Or rather, shouted in classic Astrid fashion. "Well, do something! I can't swim in this!"

Toothless pressed closer to the sea. The water came closer, and at the same time the waves grew higher. Waves of earthquake scale. The water poured over Hiccup, soaking through his skin and the holes in his chest until he could actually sense it drowning his organs. Toothless shook the water from his wings, though it grew harsher, pooling in the stretches of skin in an attempt to weigh things down. Toothless roared in frustration, and one side of his body was thrown against the rock. It was all Hiccup could do to keep the tail fin steady.

And then they were off, speeding over the water toward the island through a storm of waves. And then it was over.

Hiccup opened his eyes, not aware he had shut them.

"Wow," Astrid said softly from behind him. She sounded absolutely terrified. "I… I don't know what happened. I don't even know how I got out there. It was like a nightmare. I was in the woods, gathering wood, and then I was… out there."

He turned in time to see her pointing a shaking finger out to the rock. The waves had vanished entirely.

"It was unreal," she finished.

Hiccup nodded. His face was still covered. Would she know it was he? Did he want her to know it was he? Or would that just make this even more of a nightmare for her.

"So who are you?" Her eyes were locked on his face, and those eyes were at once thankful and demanding.

He had no response to that. He just pulled the blanket tighter around him, glancing down only to make sure the hem covered his feet. That leg of his would be the most tell-tale sign. Obvious as obvious could get.

"Thank-you for rescuing me," she said with her hands on her hips. She was beautiful, even with water dripping from her hair. "But the hood thing is weird and I would even say rude. Take it off."

He backed away from her. "No." It didn't take much to make his voice sound different. Thank-you, death.

At first it seemed she would charge after him and rip the blanket from him and be subject to a total nightmare, but her body relaxed. "Well, thank-you."

For a long time she said nothing more. Neither did Hiccup. The shore stretched along on either side of them, the winter water now placid. It was a nice scene, as far as scenes went. Romantic, even. He and Astrid together once more.

And nothing, absolutely nothing, was going to happen.

He had to be getting his body back soon.

"You took Toothless," she said suddenly, running her hand down Toothless' face, who purred appreciatively. "I can't believe you did that. Toothless is—was—Hiccup's dragon."

Hiccup did not reply. It wasn't fair. He couldn't even talk to Astrid anymore. Everything was over.

"I'm sorry," she said, shaking her head. "It just seems wrong to me. But I think Hiccup would have wanted it… that is, I think he would have wanted my life to be saved. I'm just saying that it takes a lot of nerve…" Her voice cracked, and she ran a fist over her eyes. "It takes a lot of nerve to do that, to just take Toothless. Hiccup's funeral is tonight! Does that not mean anything to you? No, it doesn't. I can tell that right away. You're walking around wearing this stupid blanket. It's weird and creepy." She lowered her eyes, and her breath steadied. "It's really creepy. I don't understand. I don't understand what I'm doing out here! This day doesn't make any sense!"

With that she dropped to the earth, knees pulled into her chest. "I keep thinking this is a nightmare, that this past week has been a complete nightmare. The past hour only made it worse. But why not? If it is part of a nightmare, maybe I'll wake up and everything will be okay. This all feels like a nightmare. I don't understand what happened, how I got out there. Did I fall and hit my head or something." SHe took a deep breath. "Yes. That has to be it. I was near the shore. But it's still such a nightmare. Hiccup will be there, alive." She wiped her eyes again. "I miss him so much. I had everything planned. A wedding, kids, things I was going to yell at him. It was going to be perfect. And now he's gone and I miss him!"

More than anything Hiccup wanted to drop down next to her, touch her shoulder, touch her.

Astrid continued. "The first time I was ever afraid was because of him. After the giant dragon incident, when he was hurt and unconscious for so long. That was the first time I ever remember being afraid of anything."

And Hiccup had been punched for that.

"I still want to know who you are," she said ferociously after a moment. "I have to know. Except I can't think of anyone who would up and steal a dragon that didn't belong to him."

"It's an old mourning custom," Hiccup said in his subtly disguised voice. Stupid. It was the first thing that came to him, and it was stupid.

But at least Astrid paused halfway through standing up. "Oh. I've never heard of that."

She had better not question it. He had to distract her. "Are you going to be okay?"

She sighed and brushed the bangs from her eyes. "That's the question you dare ask." She managed a solemn laugh. "You ask that on the day of his funeral. I was his girlfriend, as you probably know. I was crazy about him. When I heard he was dead it was like my heart had been crushed. Worst pain ever. But…" She sighed again. "I don't know. I don't want to feel like this forever. Flying dragons, being wreckless like that, he was bound to get himself killed. It's the way of heroes. And I will go on missing him and missing him for the rest of my life, but it won't change anything. I… I want to be okay, though. Someday."

The way of heroes. He rather liked the sound of that, even though he still chalked it all up to being stupid. "I think he would want you to be happy."

Her face lit up with a sad smile. "You're probably right." Then she lunged forward. "Take that off!"

"No!" As fast as he could manage he took off for the trees. She was much faster than a dead corpse. The only advantage he had was the original distance ahead. Cursing to himself, he dove behind a tree, out of sight. He hoped. Could he bring the body back to his house? If Disa could move her body through things…

Astrid was getting closer.

In the flash of a moment he was back on the table, staring up at the ceiling, somewhat impressed by the supernatural workings of the body.

And he had just left Astrid all the way out there. Okay, though. She had Toothless. She could get back. No. He had to see her again. He concentrated on the shore.

Toothless paced the shore, seeming quite content. Why wouldn't he be? He had just saved a girl, he thought he had his best friend back, and the day was clear. Hiccup smiled to himself. It was nice to see a dragon happy. Astrid was not in sight, but he could hear her in the woods, calling out.

She was not far in. Her wet body was shivering in the cold air and her cheeks were red, but that did not stop her. Her voice was angry as it shouted things like "Hey!" and "Get back here!" It was almost funny. She was never, ever going to find her rescuer.

Nice. His own little private joke.

But at last the anger faded from Astrid's voice as she gave one last call, louder than normal. "Hiccup!"

Hiccup froze.

Then she sunk to her knees in the snow, crying.

He knelt down next to her and placed his hand on her back. She couldn't feel a thing, but that didn't bother him. There wasn't anything else he could do.

"You're crazy," she whispered to herself. "You're crazy, Astrid. You need to get home, deal with whatever happened today, and say goodbye. It wasn't him. No matter what you thought, what it seemed the entire time, it wasn't him. Get a grip, Astrid." She breathed deeply, swallowing back a sob. "And if it was, well, be thankful. Be happy."

It was more than he could handle. Without thinking, Hiccup placed a kiss on her cheek.

She didn't seem to notice, but that was okay, too.

"It's going to be okay," she said to herself as she stood up, and the thing was that she sounded certain. "It's going to be okay." She began to walk through the trees.

It took hours to cross the island. Astrid moved in silence, her case of talking to herself seemingly over. After awhile, she even began to hum a little sad song. Toothless, once again confused, followed her; probably because Hiccup wasn't returning to fly him back. Hiccup wondered why Astrid just didn't fly Toothless. But he didn't wonder too hard. Maybe it would just be a matter of time with her.

Dusk had set in by the time they reached Berk, and the flame from the pyre absorbed all the light from the sunset. With fresh tears Astrid darted down the hill toward the shore.

This was it. Hiccup stood at the top of the hill and stared down. He had to get closer, had to see everything that would happen here.

Already he felt strange. Dizzy, not quite complete.

"It's happening," a voice said behind him. "It's happening for you."

"Disa," Hiccup said, turning around. Indeed, it was Disa, as terrifying as ever. He resisted the urge to give her a hug. He needed some sort of reassurance in this. "What about your husband?"

Her smile was nothing short of evil. "I have him a talking to. A very good talking to."

Hiccup nodded. "Oh. So you came back here?"

She laughed. "I had to see what became of you. I sort of envy you. So much better than rotting for years and years. Did you give the cup to Loki?"

"He took. And then he wanted me. For Hel."

Disa nodded. "Not even giving you a fighting chance?"

Astrid flashed through his mind. "Actually, he did." The whole story fell out.

Disa's smile was even broader. "You are a hero, soul boy. Never leaves you, does it?"

Hiccup stared at the thread around his wrist and gave a smile of his own. "I guess not."

She nodded at the pyre, the flames growing brighter in the darkening air. "Do you want to get closer? It might be something to see. Might be good for you."

He started down the hill. "Don't see how seeing my body burn would be helpful."

"Does it matter at this point?"

He laughed. "By the way, thanks. Thanks for everything."

"You're absolutely welcome."

Very few times had Hiccup seen the entire village gathered together. That they would do so for him was beyond wild, and he scarcely knew what to think as he made his way through the crowd.

He wasn't sure he liked this kind of attention. And yet it seemed right. He was grateful for it, at least. More grateful than he had ever thought possible. He glanced back at Disa, who was hiding. She smiled encouragingly.

Encouraging what?

Then he saw his dad, face streaked with tears, moving slowly toward the fire, a body held tenderly in his arms.

Hiccup's body.

Then, gently and unwillingly and with dusk darkening all around, he lay it in the fire.


	25. Completely Dead

The flames tingled and tickled, and Hiccup could feel it all as if he were the body in the fire instead of a spectator. Though it was him, wasn't it? Even if he were in the strange position of watching his own funeral it was certainly himself there. Every lick of the fire sent a shudder through him, and at times it became so intense that he wanted to gasp at the burning.

All around the darkness gathered, so quickly that it was soon impossible to read the faces. Not that Hiccup wanted to. He had seen enough. He had seen his dad, he had seen Astrid, he had seen everyone who had ever mattered to him.

That thought nearly strangled him. This was it. This was truly it. But it couldn't be. He hadn't managed to say anything audible to his father and he had completely blown it with Astrid.

He lifted his eyes to the night sky. The first stars were appearing, but the light was faded from the pyre. Still he did not lower his eyes. He just stared into the night and felt dizzy, like he could fall right off the earth. The only thing that kept him grounded was how he felt.

He felt like he would split into pieces.

The thread around his wrist hurt the worst. It seemed to be tightening, cutting right into his skin. He thought of the Norns and all they had said. The three spinning women at the base of the Tree. No. No, this could not be it.

He turned from the pyre. Moving was suddenly difficult. The fluid sensations he had felt since death were stiffening, and it seemed he was forcing himself through water. His vision grew cloudy and if it were possible to feel sick he did. Yes, he felt very sick indeed. He stumbled a few times, and the flames consuming his body were felt stronger and stronger.

The Norns. He had to speak to the Norns. He still had the thread, his heroic golden life thread. They had to be able to fix it.

And then what? Restore his body from ashes?

"Hiccup!" The skeletal hand of Disa grabbed his shoulder, though the sensation was barely noticeable from that of being in the middle of a fire.

Hiccup turned to look at her. He could barely make out her face. "Enjoying the site?" he muttered.

Disa's gruesome face twisted into her usual smile. "It's great to watch. You, the dead-looking you. On fire. I never thought watching things burn could be so much fun."

He felt too week to be offended. "I was sort of thinking I had more time."

Disa laughed and ran a hand gently over his face. "I'm sure I'll be thinking the same thing was the last of me has rotted away. I suppose everyone will want more time."

She just didn't get it. He closed his eyes and once more tried to think of the Norns.

"You're lucky," she continued. "I'm still stuck here. As much as fun as it is, I'm still stuck."

Did he want to be stuck, too? 

He opened his eyes. He felt like he would faint at any moment. And when he fainted, what would that mean? What would happen after that? He had to keep his eyes open. "I thought I was ready. I…" The obvious struck him. "I shouldn't have brought my body back. After I rescued Astrid."

"Yet you did."

And why had he done that? The answer came almost immediately, forcing its way into his head. Because he couldn't have scared Astrid. He couldn't have upset his father. Loki had sad it. What was done was done.

He smiled. "Yeah, I guess I did."

Disa gazed back at the fire, now the only thing visible in the night. "Well, I hope you get some place good. It was nice to have met you, soul boy."

Hiccup couldn't stand anymore. He felt like he was fire, and the flames were eating into his mind. "Nice to have met you."

And then he was out.

* * *

Waking up felt strange. Was he supposed to wake up? Somehow he felt he could get in trouble for doing so. But awake he was, blinking back a dark fogginess and staring up into the sky.

It was still night. A complex map of stars stretched above him, and the moon was bigger and yellower than he had ever seen it.

"Disa?" he managed to say.

There was no response.

It did not take long at all for his eyes to adjust to the dark. The vision trouble he had just experienced was gone; rather, his vision was sharper than even after his death. He lay on the ground, on the shore of what he assumed to be Berk. At least, it looked Berk-ish, though even with the ability to discern the patterns in the bark of distant trees he really did not recognize a single thing. A few feet away the water lapped at the shore. It was water unlike any he had ever seen. It seemed to glow.

Near the shore bobbed a boat. For a confused moment he thought it was Od's rowboat, but its' fashioning was much cleaner.

He tried to stand up, but immediately fell over. His balance was off. Just like when…

He ran his fingers over his foot. His left foot, comfortably hidden in a boot which he pulled off in order to see his toes wiggle. He laughed, and the sound of his voice echoed over the trees. His foot was one thing he had thought he would never see again. Again he stood up, letting the familiar balance of so many years regain control.

There seemed to be nothing but shore. Shore and water and the boat, which he stared at.

So was he supposed to get in it? He stared at it for a long while. Well, apparently he was dead. Completely dead. There was nothing else to be done but see what would happen if he climbed into the boat.

Suddenly it seemed the most exciting thing he could do. A game of sorts. What would happen? And he rather liked the idea of a boat.

He couldn't go back. He saw that now, clearly. He had no idea how to go back.

And that was okay.

He hopped into the boat. It shook underneath him, and, just like Od's boat, it set off.

The strange Berk-ish shore was behind when Hiccup dared to think of where he might be going.

The weird thing was that he didn't particular care. Wherever he wound up, that place would be lucky to have him.

It was a very nice thought.

Other thoughts then replaced that, namely a total horror of what was going on, what had happened. He was dead. Toothless, his dad, Astrid… they were all back at Berk, all alive, and he was sitting in a boat on the way to eternity.

He was going to miss them so much. He had no idea how much he missed them until that very moment.

The thread from the Norns was still at his wrist. He plucked at it, and it snapped between his fingers. In the night it didn't look all that golden. He looked at it for a while, then let it fall into the water.

Nice to know he had led a heroic life.

And as the thread floated away, something on the horizon gleamed. A wall of light surrounding an island. With a sudden thrill through him Hiccup stood up, the boat rocking slightly beneath him.

Helgasfjell.

Mom.

It was going to be okay.

_**The End.**_


End file.
